CES 2026 is in full swing after opening yesterday, featuring the latest Nvidia chip rollout (and a new autonomous car project), new players in wearable tech, and more that you can check out below in our must-reads links.
We’ll keep you updated here on any sports-related tech that comes out of Las Vegas this week. — Ethan Joyce
In today’s edition of Power Up:
- Spectrum to make six Lakers games available in Apple Vision Pro
- NBCUniversal reviving AI-powered OLI tool ahead of ‘Legendary February’
- On My Mind: Sports & Entertainment Advisors’ Brandon Doll
Spectrum to make six Lakers games available in Apple Vision Pro
Spectrum and Apple will make six upcoming Lakers games available live in its “Apple Immersive” viewing format, starting this Friday, Jan. 9.
The schedule will be as follows:
- Jan. 9: Lakers vs. Bucks
- Feb. 5: Lakers vs. 76ers
- Feb. 20: Lakers vs. Clippers
- Feb. 25: Lakers at Nuggets
- March 10: Lakers vs. Timberwolves
- March 30: Lakers vs. Wizards
These are the first live sporting events to be made available in Apple Immersive, which is distinct from 2D, multiview, or animated tabletop feeds currently available in the Apple Vision Pro NBA League Pass app. Content in the immersive format is produced using specialty cameras from Blackmagic Design; Apple describes the experience as simulating the intensity of courtside viewing.
Apple has to this point reserved Apple Immersive for documentary-style content, like highlights from the 2023 MLS Cup, an experiential recap of NBA All-Star weekend in 2024, or the immersive documentary from the 2024 Dodgers-Yankees World Series released last year.
The Lakers streams will incorporate seven viewing angles, spatial audio, and a broadcast team of play-by-play commentator Mark Rogondino and former NBAer Danny Green. The live feeds will be available as a viewing option in the Spectrum SportsNet and NBA Apple Vision Pro apps in the Lakers’ broadcast territory (a Spectrum subscription is required), while game replays will be accessible more broadly after the fact.
NBCUniversal reviving AI-powered OLI tool ahead of ‘Legendary February’
NBCUniversal is bringing back OLI, its AI-powered Olympic discoverability tool, with enhanced features to help fans navigate its coverage of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. As NBC Sports presents “Legendary February” -- its upcoming month of programming featuring the Milan Cortina-Games, Super Bowl LX and the NBA All-Star Game in February -- OLI can share programming details with fans about Super Bowl Sunday and NBA All-Star Weekend in addition to Olympics coverage. Powered by Google Cloud’s Gemini LLM, OLI combines generative AI with NBCU’s U.S. programming information. It will debut on Jan. 20 and be available across 19 NBCU-owned digital properties, regional sports networks and 11 local stations. OLI was developed in partnership with design and technology company Huge (NBCUniversal).
On My Mind: Sports & Entertainment Advisors’ Brandon Doll
What’s on Brandon Doll’s mind? The founder of Sports & Entertainment Advisors shares how AI is the one thing that sports business leaders need to lean in on more.
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