NBA basketball franchise the Los Angeles Clippers has partnered with the Amazon Web Services division of e-commerce company Amazon to enhance its live, augmented game-watching platform.
AWS will serve as the primary cloud computing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence provider of Clippers CourtVision, a joint venture from the team and Second Spectrum, the official video tracking technology provider for the NBA.
The Clippers and Second Spectrum will use AWS machine learning and data analytics services to advance game analyses and drive new experiences for CourtVision, which launched at the start of the 2018-19 basketball season.
In addition, Clippers CourtVision will test Amazon SageMaker to build, train, and deploy machine learning-driven stats which will appear on live broadcasts and on-demand NBA game videos.
Second Spectrum uses cameras in all 29 NBA arenas to collect 3D spatial data including ball and player locations and movements, which is stored and analysed on AWS in real-time. With help from AWS’ range of services, Second Spectrum uses that data to generate augmented graphical overlays on Clippers broadcasts in real time, offering users an array of content options and CourtVision Modes with features ranging from live layouts of basketball plays, to the frame-by-frame probability of a shot going in.
The Clippers’ chief global partnerships officer, Scott Sonnenberg, said: “Our goal in launching Clippers CourtVision with Second Spectrum was to evolve the sports broadcasting experience. That goal has been realised in large part due to a collaborative approach to computing solutions built utilising AWS.
“Using AWS, Second Spectrum is optimising the speed and capabilities of Clippers CourtVision’s technology. Ultimately, we believe this technology powered by AWS will drive a revolution in the broadcast experience that translates Second Spectrum’s cutting edge machine learning and augmented reality to all sports, so that fans can watch their game, their way.”
Clippers CourtVision is available to Fox Sports Prime Ticket subscribers via the Fox Sports mobile application as well as in a limited Beta release, which has additional customisation features that include the choice of seven different camera angles and three different audio experiences, including in-arena sound.