HELLO FUTURE: The Tech Revolution in Sports

Speaker 1 (00:08):
The next time you turn on the NFL and you
see the yellow line and you're rooting for the Eagles,
Go Birds to get a first down. It's technology, not
those chains with those two orange flags and the chain
thing in between them. It's technology that is informing your outrage.
Usually it's outrage. I'm not gonna lie of the first
down experience, but I remember when I was growing up
it was the chains, when it was fourth and inches.
Last season, when I went to the Link and saw
a game and it was like going to a drone show.
I mean, there's zipping, there's zooming, like you're in the Jetsons.
I'm like, well, am I gonna get a hit by
this thing? It's like chucking itself across. If you've ever
been to the Link right over ninety five, it's wild.
Sports has become a playground for technology. Hello Future, it's
me keV. This is a dispatch from the Digital Frontier.
The year is twenty twenty five, the planet is Earth,
and my name is Kevin SURRELLI I'm thrilled to have
the go to sports tech guy in the country. I mean,
this guy's been on Olympic panels. He was also in
blue chips with shack. This guy votes on the Heisman Trophy. Okay,
And producer Jason said that he was his college professor,
so if he taught Jason, he must be great. His
name is Jeff Fellenser, USC, Professor of Sports Business Media
at University of Southern Conforence Annenberg School. And I want
to talk all about technology and how it's changing the game,
so as you educate the future sports media people and
the future sports business minds of the nation. Technology is
it making sport better or worse?

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:53):
No, I think the great thing about about technology is
that we don't know what's next, and that Casey Wasserman
brings us up. President uh and chairman of LA twenty eight,
the host of the Olympics.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
So cool a few.

Speaker 3 (02:08):
Yeah, yeah, A great friend comes to my class every
spring and we didn't like, you go back a couple
of Olympics.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
What impact was TikTok having?

Speaker 3 (02:18):
Then impact was was Instagram or some of the other
platforms that.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Were there that that are there now? Like where were
they then? Like we don't know?

Speaker 3 (02:28):
He said, Look, we've got to be prepared to be
able to be nimble enough to go in any direction
with technology. And where it would take us even three
years from now. So that's the exciting part. And when
you you know you made reference the first down marker.
To this day, I say that my most valuable MVT,
my most valuable technology probably in sports, in sports is
the first is the yellow first down market.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
Yeah, it really is helpful. It really made the viewer
experience a lot easier. I'm not going to lie to you.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
It did.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
And don't forget that that was an experiment the early
nineties Fox Sports also the Fox box, putting the score
and the time in a box on the screen.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Really so I don't remember an era without that.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
That was the thing where at one time some people
thought it might be too distracting. When you go back
and you see clips from the sixties, you'll see just
it'll show that you know the game going on, and
the idea of like, okay, we're gonna put a box
on this.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
We're you gonna put it on the screen. It's not
gonna get in the way, like they ask answer those questions.
That was considered. If you heard of the glowing puck,
that was another.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
Fox Oh my gosh, the glowing puck.

Speaker 3 (03:35):
Yeah, okay, so somebody said wouldn't it be make more
sense to have a way to see that hockey is
not a TV sport, So maybe this could help it.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
Maybe we'll put it.

Speaker 3 (03:44):
We'll put this tail, this exploding tail on a puck
as it flies along the ice and in the net.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
And that was rejected.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
That was the dumbest thing. It was like Harry Potter quidditch,
but like way where it was bizarre. It was. It
was crazy, no offense to the millions of dollars. But
let's walk through that meeting. I mean think, I always say,
think of the meetings that they had. I let's put
a tail on the puck, right.

Speaker 3 (04:15):
And eventually the fans rejected it. Fox was if you remember,
Fox restarted as a network because of sports.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
They went the NFL.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
The NFC, and in the early nineties they built their
network around sports and the Simpsons, and so they were
in a very innovative state of mind, like let's do something.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
I love the innovation and I want to knock the meet. Now.
I feel bad it probably cost myself a guest or something,
but sorry, the Fox objectively, the Fox tracks and that
thing was not the coolest thing. What sport in twenty
twenty five and played out fifty years from now or
however into the future when we're on asteroids and zero
gravity Olympics. What is the sport that had that utilizes
the most technology and just the game being experienced for
someone to watch and consume.

Speaker 3 (05:03):
I would say the NFL, I would I would put
them probably at the top. Now, I think I think
baseball has made some great strides, great strides.

Speaker 1 (05:12):
So with the NFL specifically, I mean there's communications systems,
there's coaches on the sidelines who are talking to people
in other parts of the stadiums. There's now stuff, and
it's all technology. I know nothing about this world. You're
the expert, but I'm assuming that this is all regulated,
that these are all technology conversations that are being had.
How do they come up with the decision not just
the television but the actual team that is using and
deploying the technology. How are they thinking through all of this?
Because technology, we're in the middle of the Second Industrial Revolution,
So if you're a coach, you're now a technologist.

Speaker 3 (05:53):
It's all a giant work in progress. There's steps that
are being taken. You know, Microsoft is obviously very involved
with the NFL as a sponsor, and now they're products
the quarterbacks are using, coaches are using, they're integrating this
into the game. It's part of the game idea of
just communicating, you know, coach to quarterback, use the technology
and the helmets. So you have you have these different
areas of innovation and everybody is everybody. It's it's very
regulated within the league, so everybody's on the same page.
It's easier to do that than it is with you know,
one hundred and eighty college football programs, big time college
programs FBS, and I mean it's easier to do that
when we've got a lead of you know, thirty some
odd teams and you know, a kind of central command.

Speaker 2 (06:37):
So it's just.

Speaker 3 (06:38):
Figuring out what works, what's fair. There's there's going to
be moments when it's not in sync and working order.
But I think what we're getting now is we're getting
the chance to be as efficient as possible, maximize the
resources available, not taking the human element out of it,
and also providing the best fan experience.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
The technology of the helmet is wild to me. Let's
just start there. You could do so much with a
football helmet. I mean, just look at NASA that thing.
What they put on a thing, the space helmet that
they all wear, from oxygen to cooling system, technology system.
We know how to make a high tech helmet. How
has the NFL football helmet for a quarterback become a
piece of technology? And do you and are there conversations
being had to further enhance it? Is there a day
could the Players Association make a case, Hey, this is
a safety thing. Is that cool or not? Because then
you're merging technology with all of this. So talk to
me about the technology of the football helmet and some
of the threads I just pulled out.

Speaker 3 (07:45):
Yeah, I mean I think it's all in play. And
will it ever cross the line and be.

Speaker 1 (07:51):
A video game?

Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah? Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 (07:53):
An augmented reality is admitted reality is what the first
down line is. The only line is augmented reality. So
we saw that introduced and it was wildly successful. The
sort of inner communication between coach and player, like they'll
work that out.

Speaker 2 (08:05):
That's you know, that's fine. However they did do it.

Speaker 3 (08:08):
It's it's regulated. I think the NFL is keeping things.
It seems to be on on the you know, like
the on the right page. I just had one of
my former students works for the NFL in class. So
we talked about some of this more on the sponsorship
branding side, but that seems to be working from from
what we can tell from the outside. As fans and
followers of the game, I'm more interested in how the
fan experience is impacted and the ways to consume the game.
Now we have we have this shared reality. This is
another form of you know, we have augmented reality, virtual reality.
Now we have shared reality with these immersive routs.

Speaker 1 (08:49):
That's the coolest thing. I wrote about this in Dallas.

Speaker 3 (08:53):
Yeah, where you can go in you know that they
have they're selling tickets for college football games.

Speaker 2 (08:59):
The NFL and they're fun Soccer in the UK has
has and you're talking about charging.

Speaker 3 (09:06):
I was looking for a big upcoming college game and
the tickets were starting at two.

Speaker 2 (09:11):
Hundred and eighty eight dollars. Wild to go inside an
immersive experience. It's called shared reality because you're sharing it
and the way sports was meant to be, which is
a communal experience.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
And as a storyteller, I love this because when I
was in Lockdown, I get asked, how did you get
the idea for Meet the Future? And Hello Future? And
I'm like, because they wouldn't let me go anywhere. I mean,
I don't know, if you remember lockdowns, you could not
go anywhere. And I lived in a city I could
not go anywhere. Okay, legally not allowed to go anywhere.

Speaker 2 (09:43):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (09:44):
So I'm sitting there, you know, I get off work
and my little apartment and I gotta get out. I mean,
if you can't tell, I have a lot of energy.
And I bought a VR headset, and I bought my
VR headset and I went to Space. I covered my
eyes and I went to Space. I did that because
I had to get out. But I literally saw the
future of storytelling. And that's what COSM does, and things
like COSM Shared Reality of an immersive experience. It's kind
of like the Sphere a little bit in Las Vegas,
if you've heard of that, but on a smaller scale,
but you still feel like you're on the field. So
you're sitting in a bleacher style seat, a stadium seat
like a folding chair experience, and the screen in front
of you is immersive. It's a giant dome half dome thing,
and you feel like you are having the best seats
in the stadium and you're with your friends and you're
eating popcorner and you feel like you're there. It's awesome.
I totally think that's a cool thing.

Speaker 3 (10:43):
Again, it brings you into sports in a way that
sports shines. And I don't know if everybody knows that
COSM has its own cameras at the sporting events that
it televised that I didn't wow, dedicated cameras technology in
the stadiums and arenas that are for just for COSM,
and so it really is a developing technology. And I
think the great thing is that what you're seeing, as
you alluded to, Kevin, technology will continue to impact storytelling.
It will take us to places that we haven't been
able to go.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
That's a really cool thing.

Speaker 1 (11:20):
Do you think refs will be robots in the future.

Speaker 2 (11:24):
No.

Speaker 3 (11:24):
Even though I'm a big proponent of the automated ball
strike system, I really want to get that right. I
still want to have the umpire on the field to
manage the game because there are things that an umpire
on the field will still be able to do even
if it's not call balls.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
And strikes per se. So I want the human element
to remain in the game same as much as possible.

Speaker 1 (11:48):
Do you think. I mean, I'm asking you crazy now
questions and sorry to do it, but I just this
is how my mind works. Brain chips, that's a real
thing in the future. Are ships the new steroids for
thinking fast? Like? Are they going to have to start
looking at athletes getting brain chips.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
I'm thinking of a picture coming off the mound.

Speaker 3 (12:09):
You know, they go and they you know, they'll show
the the glove their hand and like, what do you doubt?

Speaker 2 (12:14):
And you check my brain, like, yeah, it's an unfair
chip advantage.

Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 3 (12:19):
It's crazy to think about, but it's not so crazy
in that if it's an innovation and you can conceive it,
it probably can become reality. I don't know enough about
where they are and that, but I do think as
far as storytelling, it's super exciting. Everybody wants to make
the fan feel like they are immersed in the game,
and they're almost like they have a place.

Speaker 1 (12:46):
That's gonna be what sells the VR headsets. By the way,
I've talked to so many people and I'm fascinated by
sports technology, but I get it, you're the storyteller expert,
and I'll and you know, but for swimmers. I think
every because I've you know, everyone's like, oh, this device
or this, and I'm like, yeah, but it's the augmented
reality goggles for people who swim. Like that actually is
introducing AR to the masses more than I don't want
to name and shame a brand, but that is actually
a very specific niche market of people who wouldn't otherwise
be in, you know, beyond first responders of adopting this
new technology. The watch, and and that is as a
way of training us to count our steps or to
use technology to monitor our health. Has done a lot
in terms of that. So what's fascinating about what I'm
learning from you today is if you need some alone
time on a Sunday, you can close the door and
watch a game. And that could be where the headset
comes in. And then it's immersive, which is way cooler
than watching it on a big screen. I'll be honest
with you. But where COSM and bars experience, they're going
to have to invest in, and it is if you
want to watch the game with your friends, you could
do that. Now do you think in the future the
next television or home appliance could be some type of
immersive device so that you can turn your your cave
for lack of a better word, into your own immersive
you're on the sideline experience.

Speaker 2 (14:21):
I think that's a really interesting point.

Speaker 3 (14:23):
Like we we have these home entertainment centers now and
it's fun to watch the games with our tribe, and
if you put the headset on and not everybody thinks
about this and you did there, I think smartly that
you put the headset on is the same communal experience.

Speaker 2 (14:44):
I just assume, yeah, put the headset on.

Speaker 3 (14:47):
You're gonna have these incredible views and you're gonna go
places that you haven't been able to go. But you're
also going to be to some extent, you're going to
be like reducing the amount of interaction with your people.
So I think it may be something.

Speaker 2 (15:02):
That is utilized more.

Speaker 3 (15:04):
When you are watching a game and you know how
people are fans, and I'm sure you know that maybe
you're one of them, you don't want people around if
there's if it's one of those games that is so
important and you want.

Speaker 2 (15:15):
Total folks with the right people around, the right people around.

Speaker 1 (15:19):
But sometimes sometimes you know.

Speaker 3 (15:21):
My neighbor like come over, like no, you know what
I'm just a little crazy. I've got to be so
focused on it's my team, and maybe that's the time
I put headsets on because it's just me. But but
there's a balance there between the communal experience and a
completely immersive experience. And that's where maybe cause them and
that concept and you said, maybe that comes to a
home someday.

Speaker 2 (15:46):
That's maybe the hybrid.

Speaker 1 (15:47):
That is the takeaway. That is the takeaway of today's episode,
which is, how is the technology from the viewer experience,
from the fan experience, whether you're in the stadium, how
can we replicate that in the different ways that humans
interact with the content. And I think of companies like Netflix,
which I remember going to the grocery store, or you
would get the CD mailed to your house, which is
probably a crazy concept to your students at USC, but
you would get in the mail a CD rum of
the movies that you had put in your queue, which
the word Q was introduced to us. For me, I
mean maybe it was a round longer problem and you
would get a random movie and then you would mail
it back. And now in my queue of Netflix, it's
a thing, you know, And the word Q on all
the streaming platforms. But to your point, is CAUSM introducing
us to a new form of technology, a form of
engaging with our friends, and immersive experience, a virtual reality,
an augmented reality, a shared reality. And there's something powerful
about the language of technology and the language shared reality
in these divisive times, because they're all trying to divide us.
I always say, they're all trying to divide us, Iran, Russia, China.
You know, there's something about sports and a shared reality
that is similar to my friends. And I'm not a
video gamer, but it's similar to when my friends would
play video games and they talk to each other cosms
on to.

Speaker 3 (17:25):
Say, the video game and bringing us inside these crazy things.

Speaker 2 (17:29):
And now we're in feature films. Feature filmmaking is god.

Speaker 3 (17:33):
Like, they see what's happened inside a video game, Let's
bring that to an audience in a theater.

Speaker 1 (17:38):
Amen, by the way, and I know you're the sports
tech guy, but like, I am so sad that they
have not figured out how to do immersive experiences yet
because I've been to these exhibits and they're so cool,
and I'm thinking to myself, if Mission Impossible was on
a cosm screen or I was somehow in it like
that that would be so fun. I don't mean to
knock IMAX, but I'm not talking about IMAX. I'm talking
about immersive shared reality in a movie theater environment. That
would be such a game changer. I know we're out
of time. Jeff felnser usc animergs, sports media business technology expert,
Heisman Trophy voter. I'm spoken on Olympic panels, friend to
the late great coach John Woodham, and Jeff, I hope
you have fun. Thanks for showing up to meet the future.