A little more than two months after its AI commentary venture with the Masters, IBM is attempting to enhance the presentation of another international sporting hallmark: Wimbledon.
IBM is providing generative commentary for video highlights on the Wimbledon app and website. The commentary is developed by IBM watsonx, the company’s enterprise-ready AI, and will be featured throughout the championship event, with main draw running from July 3-16 (qualifying matches started this week).
Simply put, this is an attempt to maximize content, Noah Syken, IBM’s VP/sports and entertainment partnerships, tells SBJ Tech. “It’s about driving more immersive experiences and harvesting more value from the data and content that Wimbledon has,” he said. “It’s great that you have all this tennis content, but if you can’t actually present it to fans in a way that is useful to them, compelling to them -- and ideally you could monetize -- then what’s the point of having it?”
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club has 18 tennis courts for championship usage. With 128 men’s and women’s competitors apiece in singles play, plus the additional doubles participants, that adds up to a ton of missed opportunities.
