The NFL will use Microsoft Teams to bring fans into stadiums when the season starts tonight. A mosaic of virtual spectators will be displayed on LED screens in stadiums and on broadcasts during key games.
Each game’s home team will invite some fans to watch games together in a VIP Teams meeting too. They’ll see a feed of the game alongside a gallery view of other fans, and they’ll be included in the mosaic too. Audio from those meetings will be mixed with augmented crowd noise that has been customized for each stadium.
LED screens will be installed at each end zone in key games. When a player scores a touchdown, they can see the mosaic and celebrate with fans through a Showtime Cam. The league will use Teams to manage operations throughout the season too.
Behind the scenes, NFL Football Operations will reduce the number of people it has onsite at each game and it will use Microsoft Teams to virtually manage operations for all of the games throughout the season. And the league will continue to use Surface PCs for game preparation, in-game sideline viewing experiences for players and coaches, and more.
“In a season of countless challenges, we are honored to deploy Microsoft’s powerful combination of hardware and software to help the NFL bring football to people everywhere,” Microsoft corproate vice president Jeff Teper says. “With new fan and player experiences and operations solutions that keep everyone safe, we have developed a deep and lasting partnership with the NFL, and we look forward to future collaboration in the days to come.”
