As part of the NFL’s massive advertising and marketing campaign for Super Bowl 50, the NFL produced and is now releasing a video series entitled “NFL Next” on the NFL.com website. The video series is showcasing the NFL’s commitment to advancing the use of technology within the sport. Part of the innovation that the series focuses on includes fan-use virtual reality, player-use virtual reality, biometrics, player tracking, officiating, replay, camera technology, and the future of NFL stadiums.
The first episode of the series, “Welcome to NFL NEXT”, gives an impressive four-minute overview of what the entire concept is. The captivating episode features the companies that are paring up with the NFL in order to improve the technology used in all aspects of the sport from the broadcast booth to the field of play. The series will include eight episodes and conclude on December 23, less than two months before Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016.
The NFL’s main motivation for creating this video series is a topic of great interest as the world gets closer to celebrating 50 years of the NFL. According to Mitchell Swartz, the Senior Manager of Production for NFL Digital Media, “The velocity at which technology is evolving and improving the world today is at epic proportions never seen before. Technology has been a key driver in the NFL’s meteoric rise in popularity and will be crucial to its long-term success.”
Swartz went on to note that, “At NFL Digital Media we wanted to take fans behind the scenes to get an up-close look at the technological advancements that are improving our game from every angle including advancements in: the viewing experience, the in-stadium experience, health and safety, training and game play. The NFL of the future is in many ways already here.”
The NFL has been promoting some of their recent technology advancements and is hoping to continue the success with the NFL NEXT video series. One technological advancement that is featured in the video series is the development of cameras to be installed in the pylons that surround the end zones of the playing fields.
Another technological advancement that the video series touches on, and will go into more detail with during a special “Health and Safety” video, is the improvement of equipment and concussion detection. Both of these technological advancements are signs of successful development for the league.
An aspect of technology that the league has been working to improve is the development of advanced statistics for the game. Advanced statistics can help quantifiably measure and compare players to help coaches and players evaluate talent. The NFL is addressing the development of new advanced statistics in one of the NFL NEXT videos based on “Next Gen Stats”.
It is truly remarkable to witness to the progress of technology in the game of football. Over the 50 years of NFL history, we catch a glimpse in the videos of not only how far the sport has come in terms of technology use, but also how much farther the sport is planning to go.
For the NFL, it appears that it is not just stopping at painting the 50-yard line markers on the fields of each game as sufficient promotion for the Super Bowl. The NFL NEXT video series is just another small surprise for the Super Bowl 50 campaign to promote the largest television event in broadcast history. Football fans everywhere will be anxiously looking forward to watch what is coming next and can only imagine what the sport will look like 50 years from now.