Sky Teams Up With EA To Bring Crowd Noise To The Premier League
The Premier League is due to return (provisionally on 17 June) which means it will also be back on the Sky Sports channel. However, due to the current pandemic, they will be playing without a crowd in the stadium, which might somewhat deaden the atmosphere. To help get around this, Sky has turned to gaming for a rather innovative solution!
In partnership with EA Sports FIFA, Sky Sports has created a range of bespoke and team-specific crowd noises and chants to bring a virtual atmosphere of the Premier League to the restart. Viewers can select the Sky channel to watch with the added sound or with stadium noise.
Sky Sports will broadcast 64 matches across the final rounds of the 2019/20 Premier League, including 25 on Sky’s free-to-air Pick channel. They have also introduced Sky Sports Recap, to help catch up on all the key highlights during live matches in a short burst, putting an end to that fear of missing out throughout a packed weekend of football. Each game will have a live timeline enabling viewers to quickly catch up on the highlights at any point during the match – even if they have not watched it from the beginning.
Another new feature is Sky Sports Fanzone, which allows fans to watch select matches with friends in a video room and interact while the action unfolds, giving them the chance to chat about the match and influence the crowd noise they hear on screen. Users of the app can post predictions, join in-match polls and use the Sky Sports stats to fuel the virtual conversation.
“With live sport on hold for over two months, we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how we broadcast in new ways to bring fans together, even if they can’t meet up to watch the match,” commented Sky Sports managing director Robert Webster. “Sky has always been a leader in innovative sports broadcasting, and we’re excited by this opportunity to share something really special with the whole nation. We want Sky Sports viewers to still feel it all and have the best possible viewing experience – even if they can’t be in the stadiums or watch with their family and friends.”
The Premier League is due to restart with Aston Villa vs Sheff Utd at 6pm on Sky Sports.
