WEBVTT - The NBA Playbook for Changing How Games Are Watched 0:00:06.080 --> 0:00:09.200 Welcome to another episode of Strictly Business, the podcast in 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:11.560 which we talk with some of the brightest minds working 0:00:11.560 --> 0:00:15.760 in media today. I'm Andrew Wallenstein with Variety. The new 0:00:15.920 --> 0:00:19.680 NBA season gets underway October two, and while all the 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:22.360 attention will be on the games on TV, there's also 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:25.320 many other different ways to engage with the league across 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:29.319 other platforms, from social media to VR and how the 0:00:29.480 --> 0:00:33.200 NBA innovates is the mandate for my next guest, Jeff Marsilio, 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:36.640 Senior VP of New Media to the League. Thanks for 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:40.680 coming in, Jeff, thanks for having me. Well, uh, I 0:00:40.720 --> 0:00:42.680 think when you take that this is two of my 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:45.240 favorite things. Are gonna be talking about both the NBA 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:47.519 and media innovation. There's no way I'm not going to 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:50.760 enjoy this conversation, I hope. So I'm actually curious to 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:54.680 start with what the league thinks of what you do. 0:00:54.920 --> 0:00:56.880 Is this something that it's sort of like, Okay, these 0:00:56.880 --> 0:01:01.160 are a little experimental one offs. Let's hope everything works okay, 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:03.960 or is it no? This is crucial the future. Well, 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:07.520 maybe let me start with describing what I'm responsible for. Um, 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:09.880 I lead the New Media Group, as you said, which 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:13.400 is responsible for the digital licensing business of the NBA, 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.360 and it's pretty wide ranging. It includes, as you said, 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:20.280 it includes social media, it includes um making highlights available, 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:23.160 but it also includes making games available, UM in in 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:26.399 the digital space, and it includes more emerging technology. So 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:29.479 it's not just about innovation. Innovation is a huge part 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:32.640 of it, especially because it's a space that's constantly innovating 0:01:32.800 --> 0:01:34.840 and we've got to keep up with it. But it's 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:38.080 also a pretty big business for us, So UM it's 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:41.520 look looked at as a whole. I think today it's 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:45.240 it's big business relative to more traditional linear media. It's 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:47.560 not it's not maybe that big, but it's it's really 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:51.480 rapidly growing, one of our fastest growing areas, and we 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:54.000 recognize given that growth, given the trajectory, that it's going 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:56.320 to be really really important for the future. So the 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:58.280 innovation that we are doing in this space is really 0:01:58.280 --> 0:02:01.080 important for the long term health of the league. And 0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:04.440 you were also innovating on the air. I mean, one 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:06.600 of the things that I think has been done that 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:09.640 was so interesting a number of different ways, uh in 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:13.920 this past season was the typical broadcast experience. You know, 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:16.760 you've got your play by play and your color guy, 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:20.160 and uh, you really shook that up a little. Was 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:23.840 that something that was a big priority. It's it's a continuing, 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:27.960 really big priority and one that has um come from 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:29.600 an insight. I think that came from Adam and that 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:35.000 is that Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA. And 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:42.720 you know, we we've had um the relatively similar broadcast 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:46.480 for decades. Uh you know. Sure, of course, when uh 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:49.000 TVs went to color, we went to color, and when 0:02:49.040 --> 0:02:50.640 they went to high definition, we went to we went 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:54.840 to high definition. But the the broadcast, the shape of 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:59.079 the broadcast, the format has stayed relatively consistent throughout that period. 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:03.480 Been a while, the technology around it and the fan 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:09.200 behavior around it has rapidly evolved. So we began taking 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:11.799 a fresh look at the presentation of the game and 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:15.079 realize that there's still there's a lot that we could do. Now. 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:19.480 We want to maintain some sense of that familiar broadcast, 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:22.720 but we think we can also introduce some some new 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:25.680 ideas that like, give me an example of one of 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:29.000 the things you did this past season. Well, you know what, 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:31.800 one of the areas that we've been focused on innovating 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:35.320 is the is the the audio, the commentary. And you know, 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:39.520 I I UM, I think if you've watched NBA games, 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:42.960 you've got this incredible commentary of these experts who are 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:46.800 providing play by playing color throughout every single game games 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:51.240 a season. But um, you know, not everybody wants to 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:53.120 engage with the game the same way. You might be, 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:57.720 for example, a really deep fantasy player or or somebody 0:03:57.760 --> 0:04:01.440 who's really interested in analytics. Watching the typical broadcast, you 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:07.200 won't get a real deep analysis from that point of view. So, UM, 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:10.680 those kinds of things we've begun to experiment with providing 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:15.920 alternative audio um from a variety of different perspectives. And 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:19.320 I would imagine part of that is you want to 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:24.000 bring in new voices that bring in new viewers or 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:28.159 younger viewers. Isn't that really the challenge across all the 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:31.159 platforms you're working on. It's about how does a new 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:34.839 generation of NBA fan who didn't necessarily grow up on 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:37.520 TV stay engaged with the product. That's a big part 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:41.400 of it. Um. You know, one of the things I 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:45.520 think the fan base has come to expect is choice. Um. 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:50.760 You know, because they have so much choice in their entertainment. Um, 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:53.280 they have so many different platforms to choose from, which 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:57.480 have many different competitive advantages among them, so they come 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:00.240 to expect choice, and I think it's a mistake to 0:05:00.839 --> 0:05:03.360 not provide that kind of choice. So choice whether it's 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:06.520 in the presentation of the game, the audio broadcast and 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:08.560 other things like that as we talked about, or in 0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:10.880 the ways that they can be, the places they can 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:12.400 watch it, whether they can watch it on their phone 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:14.000 or they can watch it on their connected device so 0:05:14.080 --> 0:05:18.120 they can watch it on linear television. And in the 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:22.080 the ways they transact with us. They a cable subscriber, great, 0:05:22.200 --> 0:05:24.919 if they're not, then maybe they want to subscribe to 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:28.120 something like Leak Pass. And then within League Pass, we've 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:33.240 innovated um in in in choice around transacting with us 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:36.960 as well. So you've got now the ability to purchase 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:39.520 a single game, and you've have ability to purchase the 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:44.599 game by quarters. So choice has become a really important theme. 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:48.200 And uh it is for the purpose of reaching more 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:51.719 fans and giving fans more options so that they have 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:54.039 fewer reasons not to watch the game. And we should 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:59.080 explain League passes this digital get every game you possibly 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:03.560 could want, every day of the season feature that has 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:05.440 always been a little rich for my blood. But when 0:06:05.480 --> 0:06:08.560 you start talking about this flexible pricing which you just 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:11.560 started with last year, what has been the results of 0:06:11.560 --> 0:06:16.120 that early experimentation. Well, you know, last year we introduced 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:19.440 a whole new layer of choice, as you just said, 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:24.320 and especially those quarterly options. But we've been experimenting with 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:27.599 choice throughout the history of Leak Pass and it began 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:31.400 with uh, that kind of all you can eat, full, complete, 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:35.919 comprehensive option. But then we introduced things like a team option, 0:06:35.960 --> 0:06:38.159 so you could choose to just follow your team. I 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:42.880 should say that in the United States, the local games 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:46.279 are blacked out. Those aren't available to watch if you're 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:48.320 if you're in l A, you're not going to get 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:52.400 um clip Clippers games. Uh. Within leak Past, you can 0:06:52.400 --> 0:06:54.599 watch them on your on your local R S N. 0:06:55.279 --> 0:07:00.279 But um, but we've over time we found that writing 0:07:00.279 --> 0:07:02.839 more option was really only additive. There there's always a 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:04.960 question you have to ask, sort of a strategic question. 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:07.360 If we provide this optionality, are people are gonna fewer 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:09.400 people going to subscribe to the big package and just 0:07:09.440 --> 0:07:14.280 start you know, uh, purchasing quarters And it doesn't end 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:17.280 up being that that's the case, that surprises me. Yeah, 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:21.320 it doesn't really. Um, it doesn't surprise me because it 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:26.280 has a totally different value proposition. And um, you know, 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:30.520 the the smaller packages like a quarter or an individual 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:35.080 game end up serving as great sampling opportunities. Uh. So 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:38.160 you know, somebody who might um just purchase a single 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:40.680 game ends up being a great candidate for us to 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:46.200 market the full package. So so optionality ends up being additive. Um, 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:48.120 we have to I think we have to ask ourselves 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:50.200 that question and look at that data every time. But 0:07:50.720 --> 0:07:53.160 so far, so good on that front, it's been it's 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:56.760 been additive for us. And another thing that I think 0:07:56.760 --> 0:07:59.040 there's been some experimentation on, I forget it was within 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:04.120 League past Or is different camera angles and allowing viewers 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:06.880 to control that. M Are we going to see more 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:10.160 of that in this coming season? Well? You know, one 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:12.520 of the I think, just to kind of provide a 0:08:12.560 --> 0:08:14.840 specific example that I thought was really cool that goes 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:17.920 kind of even beyond just alternate camera angles with Summer 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:22.680 League this year, which is a a tournament that we 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:26.400 that is based in Los Angeles where in Las Vegas, 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:28.760 excuse me, las of Las Vegas. I'm in Los Angeles, 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:33.640 in Las Vegas where some of the newer, younger players compete, 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:36.920 and we do a lot of experimentation around Summer League 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:42.360 and UM together with our partner Turn Sports, we UM 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:47.080 shot a whole game live using phones and and five 0:08:47.160 --> 0:08:50.439 g um. So it was and it was really cool perspective. 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:53.680 It was not only was it alternate camera angles, but 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:55.960 because of the nature of you know, shooting and watching 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:58.320 on a on a phone, it just kind of felt 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:02.679 like this guerrilla broadcast. UM. So we've been experimenting a 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:06.680 lot with alternate camera angles and and alternate ways to 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:10.480 provide that sense of access and immersion around the game. 0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:13.160 I think that's going to continue that. I know that 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:17.360 will absolutely continue throughout throughout the season. UM nothing specific 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:21.319 to announce, but we're still in exploration and experimentation mode. 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:25.239 But with with our direct to consumer products, you'll absolutely 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:30.000 see more around the alternate audio and more around providing 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:34.400 interactive features like graphical overlays, and will continue to experiment 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:36.960 with things like alternate camera angles. Like like you said, 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:38.960 and there's a part of me that loves to experiment 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:40.600 that stuff. There's also a part of me that I 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:42.360 think I speak for a lot of people that are 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:44.800 kind of lazy and just want to have the whole 0:09:44.840 --> 0:09:48.120 thing presented as opposed to making me sort of the 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:50.000 guy in the in the book, I don't think. Yeah, 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:52.240 I think in most cases it's great to have the 0:09:52.280 --> 0:09:56.040 optionality for for those kind of super duper fans who 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:58.319 are not lazy and who want to engage and almost 0:09:58.320 --> 0:10:00.840 provide their own production of of a live game. But 0:10:01.440 --> 0:10:03.480 most people are like you and like me, want to 0:10:03.559 --> 0:10:07.839 lean back and have that kind of experience. So um, 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:12.280 I think the foundational experience has to be this wonderfully produced, 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:15.920 delivered kind of experience, and that's that's what we'll be 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:20.200 focusing on. Optionality happens, and interactivity happens around around that, 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:22.960 and maybe that one person wants to interact with stats 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:25.960 and we'll try to have that feature, and then somebody 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:28.640 else wants to interact with getting more of those, um 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:31.200 those different kinds of camera angles, and maybe that just 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:33.880 having those options for different people bring them in and 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.280 they interact with the game in different ways. One of 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:38.560 the things that and then over time, by the way, 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:42.320 as we learn more about our fans and the way 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:44.960 they engage with it, it might be possible to provide 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:48.120 these more custom experiences on an automated basis. That's still 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:49.520 a little ways out, but it could be a more 0:10:49.559 --> 0:10:52.720 personalized broadcast cast based on your preferences as we learned 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:58.120 about you. But one of the interesting balancing acts that 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:00.760 we have to perform is between mean, this idea of 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:06.439 customization and personalization that we're talking about and feeling like 0:11:06.520 --> 0:11:09.080 what what is so important to two fans is feeling 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:11.760 like you have a shared experience, like we're watching the 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:14.680 same game. Uh, you know. It's one of the things 0:11:14.720 --> 0:11:17.920 I think that makes sports so different is that, um, 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:20.360 whether you're watching it in the same room together, or 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:23.520 whether you're chatting with your friends on Twitter, or whether 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:25.559 you're just talking about it the next day around the 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:28.440 water cooler, there's a kind of network effect to the 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:31.160 fact that we're all fans together. We enjoy the game 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:34.160 more because we know people who are also enjoying the game, 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:36.360 and you can't disrupt that. You have to be careful 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:39.360 not to create an experience that's so personalized that when 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:41.400 you get when you get to the water cooler, you're 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:43.760 talking about two different experiences. You still want it to be, 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:47.680 at its at its foundation, a very social experience. It's 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:51.520 interesting to think about that sort of collective experience. Thinking 0:11:51.559 --> 0:11:58.040 back to trying NBA virtual reality, which you think virtual reality, Oh, 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:01.520 you put the helmet on, it's isolating. But the interesting 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:04.360 thing about the applications that I tried was in some 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:10.240 instances you could communicate with fellow VR watchers down to 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:13.440 the point where it was rendered as avatars watching the 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:16.840 game together. First of all, First of all, I love 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:19.120 that you are super fun enough to have seen all 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:24.400 these different kinds of broadcast. Um, this is one of 0:12:24.400 --> 0:12:26.719 my favorites. What you're what you're describing, it's and we'll 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:30.319 do it again this season on. We produce games in 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:33.440 virtual reality every week with next company called Next VR. 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:37.000 We also, together with Turner, produced games with Intel in 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:39.800 virtual reality, and they each bring a kind of a 0:12:39.800 --> 0:12:44.520 different experience to the table, very immersive and conveying that 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:49.200 that what's happening inside the arena is one of the 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:52.760 other pillars of innovation for us. You know, the the 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.760 NBA experience is an immersive one. Right before there was 0:12:55.760 --> 0:13:01.160 ever an immersive UH media company, we were creating immersive 0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:03.839 media experiences in arena for those who could who could 0:13:03.880 --> 0:13:06.960 get to arenas. But you've got fans all over the 0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:10.240 world for with the NBA um WE broadcasts and over 0:13:10.240 --> 0:13:13.720 two hundred countries who may never have the opportunity for 0:13:13.760 --> 0:13:17.880 logistical reasons to go experience that unadulterated in arena experience. 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:22.319 So virtual reality has I think tremendous promise to deliver 0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:26.040 more of that sensory information. But the more traditional to 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:28.120 even call it traditional and VR is funny, but the 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:32.200 more traditional VR broadcasts have felt more isolating. So we 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:37.480 brought the next VR produced immersive experience to something called 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:40.760 Oculus Venues. Oculus is one of the pre eminent VR 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:45.560 companies in space, owned by own by Facebook and with venues, 0:13:45.600 --> 0:13:48.040 as you said, you you get to sit in a 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:53.079 in a virtual arena surrounded by avatars and it'll um 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:56.160 using the Facebook social graph. It'll sit you near your 0:13:56.160 --> 0:13:59.120 friends if they're watching it at the same time, and 0:13:59.200 --> 0:14:01.360 you can move around. You can you know, move between seats, 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:02.600 and you can look at each other, and you can 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:06.079 talk to each other, and you can gesticulate and um, 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:08.600 you don't it doesn't look like you're sitting next to 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:11.880 your friend, but emotionally it feels like you're sitting next 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:14.080 to your friend. I think that's the important thing. So 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:17.840 now we get to have the immersive experience being an arena. 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:19.320 We're not a hundred percent of the way there. I 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:21.000 don't even know we're sixty percent of the way there, 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:24.560 but we're making great progress on that and have that 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:26.920 social experience of being in the arena with your friends. 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:30.360 So um the early days, I think, but it's a 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:32.760 really compelling experience today and people are more and more 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:34.880 people are trying it and enjoying it, and I think 0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:38.680 the future of the NBA broadcast will include something like this. 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:42.400 That's how so I mean when you say meaning back 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:45.360 on the traditional TV version, that it will have something 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:48.040 like that, or that VR becomes the trade I don't. 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:51.760 I don't know that VR becomes the traditional, uh, the 0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:54.760 traditional way to view, but I think it'll be a 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:58.520 really important way to view in the future. I will 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:02.280 make this prediction, which is in the long term, I 0:15:02.360 --> 0:15:05.720 definitely could see a time when when VR displays his 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:09.920 TV as the way to experience sports. Because another big 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:14.880 takeaway for me watching the NBA and VR was even 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:18.000 though the resolution is when I was watching on Oculus, 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:20.160 it's not good. It's not going to be there for 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:24.960 a while. When you're used to watching HD on. Nevertheless, 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:29.360 the angles and the three dimensionality of it, it blew 0:15:29.440 --> 0:15:32.680 my mind and it's why I will not gonna watch. 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:35.400 I mean, not every game is available in VR, but 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:37.640 tim time to time I do make a point of 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:41.320 watching it just because, even though it's not quite achieved 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:44.720 its potential, it's far along enough where I'm kind of captive. 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:47.200 I I look, I completely agree, and I'm a I'm 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:49.880 a huge believer and a huge fan of immersive media. 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.000 I only hesitate to say that it will be the 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:55.600 traditional way to watch because I think that that optionality 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:57.320 we were talking about earlier is going to be even 0:15:57.360 --> 0:15:59.640 more important in the future. And it may be that 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:02.360 you know, you don't want to necessarily immerse yourself, even 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:04.280 if you can access your phone in VR, or your 0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:06.640 or your apps and VR, even if you can access 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:08.360 your friends. It maybe that you just don't want to 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:11.320 put a whole headset on wherever you are. You might be, uh, 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:12.720 you know, you might be in your living room with 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:13.840 your family and you want to just put it on 0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:15.960 a big screen. You might you might be walking around 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:17.680 and want to have it on your mobile phone. I 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:21.160 think in the future, um, the broadcast will be incredibly 0:16:21.160 --> 0:16:24.480 flexible and uh, you'll just have a variety of ways 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:27.440 to watch it from totally immersed, too much less immersed 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:31.880 but very mobile. Well, then there's a we've talked about VR. 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:35.920 Then there's a R or mixed reality or spatial computing 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:41.000 one at a time. My god, well, I was very curious. Uh. 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:43.120 I think it was about a year ago when NBA 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:47.640 started talking about Magic Leap in the partnership there. I've 0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:51.000 not tried that. What can we expect from that? How 0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:55.520 far along is that? Either? Well, the technology that magically 0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:58.920 has is incredible, um, and I recommend you give it 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:02.400 a shot. But for those who haven't tried it, you 0:17:02.480 --> 0:17:04.760 put a headset on it's it's it's lighter and less 0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:08.560 intrusive than a full VR headset, and you still see 0:17:08.560 --> 0:17:11.160 the real world outside of the glasses. It's like putting 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:15.439 on a pair of goggles. Um. But it using some 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:19.800 pretty pretty advanced technology, allows you to see digital information, 0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:22.720 digital assets in the real world that aren't really there. 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:26.320 So what it means for basketball is that as it is, 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:28.239 there's a lot of things. Um, I think look at 0:17:28.280 --> 0:17:33.560 the the ultimate version of that is something like virtual reality, 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:36.240 where part of the room that you're in is replaced 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:39.720 within immersive experience of watching the game. It might be 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:43.960 that um, the living room wall across from the couch 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:50.160 disappears and is replaced with courtside at the garden. UM 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:53.560 Another a little bit further, a little bit you know, 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:57.840 far out version UM is the tabletop experience of watching 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:00.280 the game. So imagine you're sitting on that caution in 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:03.080 your living room and on top of your coffee table 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:06.640 is a kind of a miniature arena that you're looking 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:09.280 into like you're a giant floating floating above it, like 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:12.679 a hologram exactly like you like you see in Star Wars. 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:15.399 And this is possible not only with the kind of 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:19.160 technology that Magically was creating, but with a capture technology 0:18:19.280 --> 0:18:23.520 called volumetric capture h This is where there's a variety 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:25.280 of ways to do it, but basically, there are camera 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:29.240 sensors position around the arena and they capture the volume 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:31.919 of the arena. They calculate where each pixel is in 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:35.240 three dimensional space, and and and they capture the volume 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:38.400 of the arena so that you can move a imagine 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:41.000 a virtual camera or a virtual perspective anywhere in that 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:45.359 volume and watch from anywhere. That means you could using VR, 0:18:45.440 --> 0:18:48.560 you could attach a virtual camera to your favorite players eyes. 0:18:48.640 --> 0:18:51.440 You said you're a Clippers fan, right, So imagine watching 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:55.919 the game play out from Kauai's point of view. Um 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:57.680 or you can do as I said and you can 0:18:57.680 --> 0:18:59.440 move back and you can watch it like a hologram 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:04.160 on a table. Is advanced and sci fi, as this 0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:08.960 technology sounds, uh, it's actually something that we're already experimenting with. 0:19:09.080 --> 0:19:11.840 Intel has a version of this technology that is designed 0:19:11.840 --> 0:19:15.359 specifically for arenas that we've begun installing in some of 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:18.760 the NBA arenas, and we can try we can do 0:19:18.840 --> 0:19:22.760 this experience what we're talking about on a non live basis, Uh, 0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:26.199 not yet at the super high definition resolution that we 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:28.920 would need, but we can see the path toward when 0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:31.440 this is live and when this is HD. So that's 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:36.200 kind of where mixed reality, spatial reality, spatial computing things 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:40.000 like magically I think end up going. But in the meantime, 0:19:40.320 --> 0:19:42.399 it's the there's a lot of really cool things you 0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:45.520 can do with it. With our current app, you can 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:49.160 put virtual screens as big as you want on any 0:19:49.160 --> 0:19:51.159 of the walls in your room, multiple screens if you 0:19:51.200 --> 0:19:54.800 like and watch the game or highlights UM play out 0:19:55.000 --> 0:19:59.879 there with three dimensional UH stats visualizations jumping out at you. 0:20:00.640 --> 0:20:02.639 And one of the cool things that we've we've played 0:20:02.680 --> 0:20:05.080 with is a sort of a CG representation of a 0:20:05.119 --> 0:20:08.160 player on the coffee table. UH. And in this case 0:20:08.240 --> 0:20:11.600 last season it was it was Lebron uh just running 0:20:11.600 --> 0:20:14.239 down the court and dunking the ball. But it was like, 0:20:14.400 --> 0:20:16.960 this is what this is what the future of highlights 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:18.600 might look like. They'll be spatial and you'll be able 0:20:18.600 --> 0:20:20.720 to look around them, UM as though they were a 0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:23.080 hologram in the room with you. And how cool would 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:26.000 it be if it would also be life size, because 0:20:26.040 --> 0:20:31.399 I think that could be something where have the ability 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:34.159 to not just see them in three dimensions, but to 0:20:34.480 --> 0:20:38.439 see them at their actual height. Is that that's even contemplated. 0:20:38.480 --> 0:20:40.200 It just kind of occurred to me. Now it's like, well, 0:20:40.240 --> 0:20:42.960 maybe why not. It's a great it's a great use case, 0:20:43.200 --> 0:20:47.400 especially because our players are so physically imposing and impressive. 0:20:48.000 --> 0:20:51.199 And it turns out it's actually no more difficult to 0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:54.920 do it large than it is to do it small. UM. 0:20:55.080 --> 0:20:58.080 You don't with the field of view of the current systems, 0:20:58.320 --> 0:21:00.600 you wouldn't be able to take the full player in 0:21:00.800 --> 0:21:03.359 from a close distance. You'd have to kind of start 0:21:03.440 --> 0:21:06.120 us at at his feet and go up and look 0:21:06.160 --> 0:21:09.199 towards the ceiling to see his head um. But that 0:21:09.240 --> 0:21:11.160 field of view is something that's going to improve as well. 0:21:11.200 --> 0:21:12.960 And if you step back and you wanted to see 0:21:13.080 --> 0:21:14.840 a life size player a little bit across the room, 0:21:14.840 --> 0:21:16.600 that that fit in the field of view, you can 0:21:16.640 --> 0:21:18.920 absolutely do that and it's no more difficult than than 0:21:19.000 --> 0:21:22.000 capturing them at a at a smaller scale, well a 0:21:22.400 --> 0:21:26.280 nearer term a R application. I had the pleasure because 0:21:26.320 --> 0:21:28.639 I'm a Clipper fan of witnessing this past season. I 0:21:28.680 --> 0:21:31.720 don't know if you saw the Clippers court vision with 0:21:32.240 --> 0:21:35.399 the company called Second Spectrum, right, I mean, just to 0:21:35.400 --> 0:21:39.119 give people an idea, that's where you're watching the usual game, 0:21:39.280 --> 0:21:42.719 perhaps on your phone, and there's an a R layer 0:21:42.920 --> 0:21:48.320 of graphics and stats that are pretty seamless, pretty real 0:21:48.480 --> 0:21:52.600 time in terms of data coming in. Is that something 0:21:52.640 --> 0:21:55.320 we're going to see more of around the league? Yeah, 0:21:55.400 --> 0:21:58.600 So that's that's something that the Clippers did in partnership 0:21:58.680 --> 0:22:01.600 with a company called Seconds Spectrum, and they are one 0:22:01.680 --> 0:22:07.800 of the um stats providers or information gatherers for the league, 0:22:08.000 --> 0:22:12.080 and they use UM technology that tracks the players on 0:22:12.119 --> 0:22:14.840