WSC Sports’ GenAI tech allows NBA fans in France, Brazil, and Spain to consume content in their native language
The automated voice-over technology enables multilingual content and boasts 75% completion rate for the 2-minute videos
Expansion of WSC Sports’ GenAI deployment across the league’s digital platforms is already underway
In recent months, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has successfully deployed a groundbreaking generative AI technology from long-time partner WSC Sports to automate voice-over commentary for game highlights in multiple languages across digital platforms.
With billions of fans all over the world, the league is, and has been at the forefront of adapting to the complex challenge of delivering personalized sports content experiences at a global scale. And this step takes things to a new level.
The technology leverages WSC Sports’ LSM (large sports model)—the first-ever large language model dedicated to sports content—to analyze every game and automatically create highlights with enhanced storytelling and context. Using ground-breaking scripting capabilities and fine-tuned text-to-speech models, the system generates voice-over commentary that allows fans to enjoy NBA content in their preferred language.
Our partnership with the NBA represents a significant milestone in sports content automation. By leveraging our proprietary large sports model and advanced text-to-speech capabilities, we’re helping the NBA break down language and cultural barriers, and scale-up the amount of personalized experiences they’re delivering to fans worldwide.”
Itai Epstein, Director, GenAI Lead WSC Sports
A few highlights (no pun intended) of the collaboration include:
Languages: Voice-over provided in French, Portuguese, and Spanish
Speed: 2-minute highlights from every game posted within minutes of final whistle
Stickiness: viewers watch 75% of the 2-minute videos on average
The initiative builds on the NBA’s long-standing partnership with WSC Sports, which began in 2015. The collaboration has already revolutionized short-form content distribution across more than a dozen digital platforms, including a complete revamp of the NBA app prior to the 2022-23 season.
Key features of the AI-powered system include:
Real-time analysis and highlight creation using WSC Sports’ proprietary platform
AI-driven scripting that enhances storytelling with game context and statistics
Advanced text-to-speech models optimized for sports commentary
Support for multiple languages and regional variations
Automated content distribution across digital platforms
Introducing the technology has greatly impacted the NBA’s ability to scale the amount of localized content created on a given night, and the engagement rates have validated the approach to using AI for localization.
The league plans to expand the technology to additional languages in the coming months and explore new applications for AI-driven content creation, including daily shows and original programming.