- NBC Sports uses an AI-generated version of legendary advertiser Jim Fagan’s voice in his upcoming NBA coverage
- The recovery appears in the intros and promos with approval of fagan’s family
- NBC hopes to induce nostalgia in the 1990s basketball with the AI voice
The flowering, bariton story of Jim Fagan is as much as part of the 1990s NBA Games as Bugs Bunny, selling shoes with Michael Jordan or the theme “Roundball Rock”. Although Fagan died in 2017, NBC has its voice ready to go in the upcoming season thanks to AI voice cloning. NBC Sports announced the plan for when it regains TV rights in October.
Fagan’s voice does not tell full games, the current commentators do not have to worry about direct AI competition yet. The plan is to use him selectively: Show opens, promotional places, perhaps the dramatic lead-in for a playoff broadcast.
The network is reportedly cut off billions as part of a massive rights package shared with Amazon and Disney. What better way to feel his return than with the voice that defined the league’s TV gloss wound? NBC just hopes that Fagan’s Phantom Voice will remind people of NBA’s golden age three decades ago.
The NBC approached the project carefully to avoid a setback from Fagan’s fans. The company built Fagan’s vocal Doppelganger with permission and collaboration from Fagan’s family.
He was very proud of his work with NBC Sports, especially in helping set the stage for some of the most memorable moments in the NBA story. Knowing that his voice will again be part of the game, which he loved-and that a new generation of fans will experience it-is incredibly special to our family, “said Fagan’s Dathe, Jana Silvia Joyce and Risa Silvia-Koonin, in a statement.” He would be so excited and proud to be part of this. “
Slam dunk ai
If this sounds like the echo of a similar idea, it is because NBCuniversal has dipped in its AI audio toolbox recently. At the Paris Olympics last year, NBC Al Michaels’ voice recreated to deliver Olympic Recaps on peacock.
There is a trend in sports broadcast to remix the past using futuristic tools. Whether it is classic theme songs, throwback logos or AI-generated recaps, the goal of nostalgia is a feeling more than a strictly perfect recreation. And if it works, you need to be ready for AI to occur Marv Albert next.
