Amazon is expanding on the data-driven Next Gen Stats optional game feed it had for it's broadcasts. Wonder if/when we'll see some of these innovations coming to optional feeds on NFLST. Some neat stuff, I enjoyed watching these last year and looking forward to how they continue to innovate on it.
Defensive Alerts
What if we said that AI can predict blitzes? Defensive Alerts is Amazon’s in-house ML neural network that recognizes when defensive players are about to rush the opposing quarterback. A red orb will appear around the players of interest so fans know exactly who to focus on.
“It’s able to look at all players XY coordinate data, their relationship to each other, as well as their acceleration; where are they moving and how fast are they moving directionally to predict who’s going to blitz,” explained Sam Schwartzstein, TNF Analytics Expert at Prime Video.
The ML model was trained on 35,000 plays and will continue to get smarter, Schwartzstein told TechCrunch, adding that it’s identifying blitzes and situations better than offensive linemen. He also said the team has a panel of NFL experts who are former quarterbacks, coaches and offensive linemen that help annotate the plays.
“Having this as an in-house neural network can only expand the kind of features that we can do in the future,” he said.
Prime Targets
Prime Targets (featured in the first image at the very top of the page) works similarly in that a green orb will light up a player that is open for a pass. The feature automatically tracks when a quarterback drops back to get ready to throw a pass, and the receiver (lit up by the green orb) runs out and creates separation from himself and the defenders.
This feature was previously called Open Receiver, which tracked which players would most likely convert the first down. Amazon tested it during last season’s games.
“This is the first statistic that is measuring the process of the play,” Schwartzstein noted. “Everything that we do on Prime Vision is predictive… This is all in real-time.”
Four Down Territory
Amazon is also launching a feature that may help fans understand how fourth-down decisions are made while potentially helping teams prepare for fourth downs.
The four down territory is an area on the field that offensive players use in an attempt to tie or win the game. Historically, coaches usually opt to punt the ball away since it feels less risky. However, as years go by,
more and more teams are going for the fourth-down conversion.
Instead of putting analytics on the screen after the play happened, Four Down Territory operates like a real NFL analytics coordinator does; it shows viewers exactly when a team should try a fourth down and what the probability is.
Field Goal Target Zones
NFL fans are accustomed to seeing field goal target lines on broadcasts—the digital line that appears at the end of half or end of the game, where if a team gets to it, they can kick a field goal. Amazon’s Field Goal Target Zones feature will have multiple lines on the screen that tell viewers the likelihood that a kicker will make a field goal at each point.
Key Plays
Key Plays gives fans the ability to view in-game highlights and critical moments, whether they’re already watching the game live or streaming on demand afterward. Much like Rapid Recap ensures fans never miss the action, Key Plays leverages AI and machine learning to offer viewers a full rundown of what’s happening on the field.
As Amazon’s Prime Video gears up for its second year as the exclusive rights holder to NFL’s Thursday Night Football (TNF), the streaming service hopes to Prime Video hopes to give TNF fans a more enhanced viewing experience with a slew of new AI-driven features.
techcrunch.com
thestreamable.com
