Bally Sports West To Present ‘Clippers Kids Cast’ Augmented Presentation Featuring AR Graphics, 10-Year-Old Announcer

Wednesday broadcast will be the first time an RSN has delivered an augmented broadcast

The growing alternate broadcast trend will officially the regional sports market tomorrow night when Bally Sports West and the LA Clippers televise the first-ever augmented broadcast of a live sporting event on a regional linear platform with Clippers Kids Cast powered by Bally Sports during Game 5 of the team’s First Round Playoff matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. The companion/side-by-side telecast on Bally Sports West (with the traditional game telecast airing on Bally Sports SoCal) will be geared towards the younger generations with specialty graphics, AR overlays, and youth-oriented commentary.

The Clippers Kids Cast follows on the heels of ESPN’s recent Marvel’s Arena of Heroes and Daily Wager Special alternate presentations of NBA games, as well as Nickelodeon and CBS Sports’ much-ballyhooed “Nick-ified” presentation of the NFL Wild Card Game in January. Wednesday’s broadcast on Bally Sports West, however, will mark the first time a regional sports network has given the augmented-broadcast treatment to a live game presentation.

Second Spectrum, which also created the AI- and ML-fueled Clippers CourtVision powered by AWS game-watching platform (and was recently acquired by Genius Sports), will drive the technology behind the broadcast. Clippers radio voice Noah Eagle, former Clippers player and Bally Sports analyst Corey Maggette, and 10-year-old sports reporter Pepper Persley will provide commentary for the Clippers Kids Cast broadcast of Game 5 of the Clippers’ First Round playoff matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.

Clippers Kids Cast will feature graphics and commentary that add to the story of the game in a fun, energizing, and engaging way to connect with and attract a younger audience. Graphics layered on by machine learning in real-time will include player-specific animations like Kawhi Leonard hitting 3s from Moreno Valley, Paul George fishing and Reggie Jackson’s “Reggie Vision” goggles, plus lightning bolts and logos that punctuate big plays. Eagle, Maggette and Persley will narrate the game while integrating fun facts about the players and themselves, highlighting Gen Z members of Clipper Nation and relating to fans through the Xs and Os of basketball.

“We’re excited to join alongside our partners at the Clippers and Second Spectrum to deliver an innovative and creative view of the game,” says Steve Rosenberg, President Local Sports, Sinclair Broadcast Group. “By combining our best-in-class local production with the power of Second Spectrum’s technology, this is a great opportunity to broaden our reach with a fun, lean-forward experience and really help shape the way fans of all ages view games in the future.”

Eagle is in his second season calling Clippers games on AM 570 L.A. Sports, and also hosts pre- and post-game coverage on Bally Sports SoCal. He also recently called play-by-play for the NFL Wild Card Game on Nickelodeon. Maggette has contributed to Clippers broadcasts for the past seven years as a pre- and post-game and game analyst. Persley has been a sports journalist since she was six years old, and has her own talk show, Dish With Pepper, that shares inspiring stories through her interviews. She currently works for The Next, hosting a bi-weekly women’s basketball podcast, She Got Next with Pepper Persley, and has interviewed a wide range of inspiring female athletes and sports figures.

“Second Spectrum’s technology has already changed the way Clippers fans interact with our games through personalized viewing experiences that target different fan interests, but with only limited availability, until now,” says Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker. “Clippers Kids Cast powered by Bally Sports broadens the reach of the customized live game experience by taking a regional sports network broadcast to the next level with real-time augmentations, plus the game story told by the best young voices out there. This is the future of broadcasting, and we’re excited that our partners at Bally Sports and Second Spectrum are as excited about it as we are.”\

The Clippers and Second Spectrum introduced Clippers CourtVision powered by AWS at the start of the 2018-19 NBA season, debuting the technology that has evolved to create the Clippers Kids Cast broadcast. The Clippers CourtVision digital viewing experience has been available to Bally Sports SoCal subscribers via the Bally Sports mobile application, as well as in a limited beta release, for the past three seasons.

“Second Spectrum is thrilled to continue our incredible partnership with the LA Clippers and Bally Sports from which new innovations and engaging fan experiences like Clippers Kids Cast come to life,” said Rajiv Maheswaran, Co-Founder and CEO of Second Spectrum. “Together, we have created a world-class and unmatched platform to power creative and unique real-time content for a modern generation of sports fans. I personally look forward to watching Clippers Kids Cast with my kids.”