ESPN is developing an AI-generated virtual character named FACTS for its Saturday college football show SEC Nation. This virtual character will utilize information from ESPN Analytics, including Football Power Index (FPI), player and team statistics, and game schedules, to enhance education and enjoyment in sports analysis.
Image: ESPN
FACTS is described as a robotic version of ESPN's first statistician, Howie Schwab, who was a star of the mid-2000s game show Stump the Schwab. However, ESPN emphasizes that FACTS is not intended to replace journalists or other talent, but rather to test innovations and create a channel for ESPN Analytics' data, allowing fans to access this information in an engaging and enjoyable way.
FACTS uses Nvidia's ACE (Avatar Cloud Engine) and Azure OpenAI integration to support language processing, and employs ElevenLabs for its text-to-speech capabilities. The virtual character is still in development, and it is unclear when it will make its debut on the ESPN network.
Recently, ESPN has also introduced generative AI on its website and launched AI-generated game recaps. Additionally, the company announced plans to launch a truly independent ESPN streaming channel in the fall of 2025.