The SEC Nation Saturday college football show is testing an avatar created with artificial intelligence. FACTS is designed to “…promote education and fun around sports analytics” with data from ESPN Analytics, such as the Football Power Index (FPI), player and team statistics, and game schedules.
ESPN is currently experimenting with an AI avatar named FACTS. This avatar will be featured on the SEC Nation show. Its main goal is to make sports analytics more enjoyable and accessible for fans. FACTS will use various data sources from ESPN, including important stats and schedules, to provide insightful commentary.
Although we haven’t seen FACTS in action yet, it sounds like it will be similar to Howie Schwab, who was ESPN’s first statistician and starred in the game show “Stump the Schwab.” The idea is to have FACTS complement the human hosts on the show rather than replace them.
FACTS is still in development, and there’s no set date for when it will appear on air. However, ESPN has already started using AI for other purposes, like writing game recaps on its website. The technology behind FACTS includes Nvidia’s Avatar Cloud Engine and ElevenLabs for voice capabilities, making it a sophisticated tool for sports commentary.
ESPN emphasizes that FACTS is not intended to take the place of journalists or other talent. Instead, it’s a way to explore new ideas in the sports market and make data from ESPN Analytics more engaging for fans.
With this innovative approach, ESPN aims to create a fun and educational experience for sports lovers everywhere. Keep an eye out for FACTS as it continues to develop!
