A lot of the animation we see during NFL and college football games can be a little hokey (which is strange given the billions of dollars shelled out for the broadcasting rights, but we digress). Not so for Prime Video, as Amazon showed an animation by sports medicine company Arthrex that wowed viewers to visually explain San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy’s UCL surgery.
Early on in the Thursday Night Football match-up between the Niners and New York Giants, sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung did a segment on Purdy, who tore the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow in the first quarter of the NFC Championship Game last season. She explained that Dr. Keith Meister used a “cutting-edge technique, implanting a high-tech stabilizing tape known as a UCL internal brace to repair the ligament and reinforce that throwing elbow.”
The accompanying animation, which was a little intense but ultimately very informative, provided a visual explanation that made things extra clear for a lot of viewers.
The Amazon Prime Video #TNF broadcast went all out with a UCL surgery animation (re: 49ers QB Brock Purdy). 🏈🥼💪 pic.twitter.com/LoTvIfPh42
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 22, 2023
“I don’t know about you but anatomical animation…I gotta look out of the corner of my eye,” said Al Michaels, who found the visuals to be a little much in the beginning. However, many Prime Video viewers seemed to appreciate the quality of animation.
all that AWS AI money not going to waste! https://t.co/wl2NbaKk8N
— Bob Thompson (@rltsports) September 22, 2023
We have finally reached peak football graphics. Nothing can top this. https://t.co/CUMx2c3Q6Y
— Kyle Nuss (@KDN1692) September 22, 2023
Actually.. quite cool seeing this and educating those how these injuries get operated on. https://t.co/dOe5hDlPhj
— Daniel Lavender (@DoctorAdmirals) September 22, 2023
The addition of companies like Amazon into the NFL broadcasting mix certainly brings complications and confusion for some fans. But they’re also able to invest in work like this that moves football broadcasting forward. We look forward to seeing what else they have up their sleeves. Hopefully, it’s something other than in-depth views of surgery just to mix it up.
