The NFL is adding a pair of alternate broadcasts to its NFL+ streaming service which will feature advanced metrics and statistics.
Genius Sports partnered with the NFL on the alternate broadcasts, with the first actually produced by the league itself.
Per the Sports Business Journal, the broadcasts are called NFL+ Vision Stream and NFL+ Stats Stream.
Genius VP of Product for Media and Fan Engagement Glen Herold talked to SBJ about the streams, saying that the only major changes in the broadcasts are in the on-screen graphics.
Optionality was a key consideration for fans to choose their own adventure on method of consumption. The rest of the production, from camera angles to commentators, will remain the same — only the visualizations will change. “With the changing consumer behaviors, personalization and choice is really important to them, and this fell right into that,” said Glen Herold, Genius VP of Product for Media and Fan Engagement.
NFL+ Stats was developed “with the fantasy player in mind,” said Herold, who is also a former NFL Media exec, and it represents the first step on a vision toward future products where viewers could sync their fantasy matchup and have players from their roster and their opponent’s highlighted on the screen. “To us, that’s the foundation of how you build towards a really unique, one-of-a-kind fantasy viewing option where it is personalized to your team,” Herold said of the current product, before doing, “The big leap, I think, will be using our augmentation to actually make it interactive on the client side.”
Among the more compelling Vision Stream metrics is a colorful cue to indicate open receivers, with the aim of educating fans and evaluating quarterback play. “Broadcast does it a lot in replay,” Herold said. “This will do it live — ‘This person is open, not was open.’” These two new features soft-launched for select games last weekend and with no marketing, as NFL Media tested the technical viability, discoverability and stickiness. Having passed that, it rolls out to all games this weekend as the first step in a multi-year product road map.
Here’s a screenshot of what the Stats Stream looks like, via Genius Sports.
These alternate broadcasts aren’t earth-shattering, but they’re still a nice step forward for the league and exactly what the NFL+ app should offer.
