NBA Digital courtside fans (4/2020)
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Great idea to somehow overcome pandemic in sports. Fans at live sport events are crucial, so the NBA – using Microsoft Teams – is bringing basketball fans back to courtside. Microsoft, with its freshly released Together Mode for Teams, uses AI to segment your face and shoulders and place you together with other people in a virtual space.
Tiffany Rolfe: “Many of us in advertising with a connection to technology and sports companies were all probably trying to get a digital fan idea made, so hats off to Microsoft Teams for bringing this new version of NBA fandom to life in the pandemic: hundreds of fans doing “The Wave,” wiggling their arms and hands to distract opposing free-throw shooters, cheering for baskets and screaming after mistakes, just like old times. It was a great way to create a bit of a communal experience during these crazy times.”
