When the NBA tips off its adjusted season fans will not be in the building. But the league and its technology partner are working on ways to make it feel like they are. In order to give the games more of a TV product feel the NBA will have DJ’s and announcers in the venue so that the place will sound like a normal arena and not a big quiet open space. For fans watching at home it will heighten the sense of normalcy. Having already watched some of the NBA exhibition and a WNBA game I can attest of the slickness of the broadcast.
Fans will have a chance to be seen at the arena as well. Using 17 Foot video boards that surround the court fans watching from home will be projected in the arena giving the players a chance to play in front of an audience. And the fans at home will have a chance to cheer and interact with each other without leaving their homes. The idea is to create a virtual experience by removing fans from their individual backgrounds and bringing them together in a shared visual space that will be seen through the broadcast and in the venue.
Fans at home will also be given new access to the game that they have never had before with multiple camera angles available and enhanced on court sounds. So while none of the fans outside of the close family members will be able to be at the arena to smell the popcorn and yell at riffs, the NBA will be doing its best to provide a nice experience for fans and players and put together a product that looks more like a normal situation than people cutouts at baseball games.
For more on this topic see the story on NBA.com
