Augmented reality: Elevating the match experience

A friend of mine took his girlfriend to her first-ever American football match – and she asked him where all the markers were – like the yard lines and ‘first down’ lettering you see on TV. Augmented reality and graphic overlays are, at this point, an inseparable part of the viewing experience, so much so that we often can’t tell them apart from the real, physical thing – especially if it’s all we know.

“I see augmented reality as the bridge between the sport at a performance level and genuine fan comprehension,” begins Simon Davis, CXO at Pixotope, which specialises in virtual production and real-time graphics. “AR overlays can have contextual data placed directly onto the live action – player speeds, trajectories, distances, tactical formations – so viewers grasp the ‘why’ behind the moment, not just the ‘what’. This turns passive watching into informed appreciation, deepening the connection between fan and sport.”

AR overlays have become so useful that a live game can leave fans in attendance feeling confused; the information they normally receive, on a screen, that is, is noticeably absent. “Without AR, audiences lose the visual layer of commentary and context: the offside lines, the swimmer’s world-record pace line, the projected ball flight, the down-and-distance markers, the real-time probabilities,” says Davis. “These insights exist in the data but stay hidden from the eye. AR surfaces them in context, revealing the strategic and physical nuances that commentators alone can’t fully convey – and give fans a better understanding of the data.”

Fan comprehension has followed the chronology of technological advancement. Before 1994, American football fans only saw the score when networks chose to display it; the ‘Fox Box’ (dubbed as such by Fox Sports) gave viewers a permanent graphic overlay with the score, down, distance and game clock. Later, in 1998, Sportvision debuted its 1^st & Ten system, which added an augmented yellow line – representing the distance to another first down – to the broadcast on ESPN. This marker then became standard by the early 2000s.

Camera tracking and real-time rendering have encouraged ‘more flexible, photorealistic graphics’. Meanwhile, “Lower-latency fibre connections and remote production have made AR accessible far beyond flagship events – reaching smaller broadcasts and tighter budgets,” explains Davis.

“Our toolset spans Pixotope Graphics for real-time AR, XR and virtual graphics,” he continues, “as well as Pixotope Tracking.” This includes Fly (drone, railcam and cablecam tracking) and Zone (through-the-lens tracking for fixed-position cameras). “Our graphics platform is built around the latest releases of Unreal Engine, enabling broadcast-grade visuals with the flexibility of a unified system, making them easier to air.”

Besides enhancing understanding, AR also enables “moments of fun and creativity, plus a commercial advantage,” he shares. Broadcasters can now replace physical advertisements with virtual ones, tailoring game coverage to a specific region or fanbase. NHL fans in Philadelphia might see an on-ice ad for Penn Medicine, for instance, even though the Flyers are playing the Bruins in Boston.

Pixotope has seen its share of ‘fun’, providing AR overlays during the last six Super Bowls, as well as the Olympic Games, MLB National League Playoffs, Roland-Garros and much more. In one such case, a giant Chipotle burrito emerged onto the ice during an NHL game; in another, a Gillette razor flew through the air during a Monday Night Football match.

While these examples were commercially motivated, fans are getting a kick out of AR, too – just take Nickelodeon’s coverage of Super Bowl LVIII, which saw commentators SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star and Sandy Cheeks report ‘live from Bikini Bottom.’ Silver Spoon and SMT handled the broadcast’s AR elements.

Regardless of intention, AR overlays can make for a more enjoyable, digestible sport experience for fans and casual viewers alike.