Dolby’s new technology could make sports broadcasts more personalized, and intrusive

Dolby has developed new technology to personalize broadcasts, including advertisements, and the Seattle Seahawks are the first team to use it.

The technology is called Dolby OptiView. It promises low latency for viewers while also increasing personalization.

The Seahawks are using the technology to stream their preseason games on the team’s app and website. It is also being used by NFL+, Endeavor Streaming, Kiswe, and ViewLift (recently bought by DAZN).

Lower latency should reduce broadcast delay, a key pain point for fans in the social media and live wagering eras.

However, the major change for fans will be the increased personalization. According to Sportico, the technology will allow partners to better target ads based on user behavior, with the hope that those ads will help with viewer retention and be monetized at higher rates.

“A stats-focused person may be very open to watching an ad at specifically the time when the storytelling-minded person is really engaged in what’s happening,” said Dolby Cloud Solutions SVP Giles Baker, according to Sportico.

The technology could also help platforms identify when fans are most likely to turn off the game and target them with pop-ups and other incentives to keep them watching.

How fans react to this technology will likely determine whether this effort can succeed. If it’s obviously pushing viewers to stay tuned in with annoying pop-ups, or results in advertisements starting right in the middle of a sentence because a computer thinks someone is most ready for an ad, that could result in significant backlash. Especially as it appears that the technology is powered, at least in part, by AI.

“We’re really focusing on the engagement side of things through building AI tools and building data-driven viewer understanding that can predict how viewers will respond to what’s happening,” Baker said.

The other major question is what data is being used to personalize the streams. How can Dolby figure out whether a person is “stats-focused” or “storytelling-minded” just by their behavior in one app?

Of course, backlash is certainly no guarantee. The technology has already been in use by partners, and there doesn’t appear to have been much reaction yet. If implemented well, the only difference a user might notice is different ads being shown on a friend’s phone.

For better or worse, the Seahawks appear to think this technology is the future of advertising.