Wimbledon 2024: Can AI bring fans closer to the sporting action?

The use of artificial intelligence in sports is changing things on the field—semi-automated offside technology and data from a connected football, to name a couple—and off as well. Earlier this month, IBM and the All England Lawn Tennis Club announced the launch of a new generative AI feature that will personalise fan engagement further during the Wimbledon Championships, which start on 1 July.

The “Catch Me Up” feature will be available on both the Wimbledon app and website. It will give AI-generated summaries for every singles player, describing details from their last match and a preview to their next tie, as per an IBM blog. Users can personalise their “Catch Me Up” list by choosing favourite players. It factors in recency, geolocation data and player rankings to show users more relevant content—like a summary card, which will capture the major highlights of the day, storylines and previews.

Behind the scenes, this new feature is powered by IBM’s watsonx generative AI platform and built using the company’s Granite large language model, which utilises huge amounts of data on player performance and rankings to generate the stories, the blog explains. IBM will also be adding generative AI layers to its SlamTracker software, which will now provide bullet point-based match previews and post-match reviews for all singles matches.

Also read: Why Carlos Alcaraz is the top contender at Wimbledon 2024

Such innovations are being introduced beyond tennis. In Formula 1, F1 and Amazon Web Services (AWS) unveiled a generative AI-designed trophy for the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix earlier this month. AWS and F1 have now invited fans to make their own gen AI-designed trophy through the PartyRock F1 trophy generator website. The winning design will get its maker a trip to a Grand Prix in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Some AI tools are also changing how on-field coverage is delivered. At the ongoing T20 World Cup, the ICC introduced a new AI-supported vertical feed called QuickFlip, which directly converts horizontal video into vertical broadcasts. Tailor-made for mobile devices, a similar video format was trialled during the 2023 ODI cricket World Cup.

The NBA has also been experimenting with a vertical format for video highlights and updates.

The forthcoming Paris Olympics, which start on 26 July, will be the first edition of the Olympics to use Intel’s Xeon AI processors to broadcast the tournament in 8K resolution— which has four times the resolution of Ultra HD 4K—on compatible devices. According to the International Olympic Committee, the encoding, compressing of the live broadcast signal and delivery of 8K content will happen in a matter of seconds.

But are fans excited about such innovations? Tennis fans are. New research from IBM and Morning Consult, an American business intelligence firm, reveals that 55% of global tennis fans surveyed think AI will have a positive impact on sports, while 60% of tennis fans said technology will have a positive impact on the advancement of fan engagement.

When considering how generative AI could improve their experience, the respondents prioritised real-time updates (36%), personalised content (31%), and unique insights (30%). This survey was conducted among more than 18,000 sports fans, above the age of 18, in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, India, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

Fans are getting closer to the action, one algorithm at a time.

Also read: Wimbledon 2024: A tournament that is brimming with possibilities