The NBC Sports division of US media group NBCUniversal has announced a partnership with the Dallas Cowboys NFL American football team and the Replay Technologies company to introduce a groundbreaking broadcast initiative for games at the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium.
NBC Sports and the Cowboys will work with Replay Technologies to provide a unique, new 360-degree ‘FreeD’ look at red-zone plays for viewers watching NBC football broadcasts and fans at games in AT&T Stadium.
FreeD, which stands for free dimensional video, will debut during NBC’s Sunday Night Football opener between the New York Giants and the Cowboys on September 8.
In addition, NBC Sports will use the system for the October 5 Notre Dame-Arizona State college game, and the October 13 Redskins-Cowboys SNF game at AT&T Stadium. Any further Cowboys games scheduled into primetime will also be included.
The FreeD system will utilise 24 high-speed cameras mounted in the stadium – 12 in each red zone placed on both sides of the field from the 20-yard line to the goal line and in the back of each end zone – to provide replays of key red-zone plays from a 360-degree perspective.
Fred Gaudelli, coordinating producer of Sunday Night Football, said: “Being able to seamlessly move from side to side and around an entire play without switching shots will entertain and inform the fans at the stadium and watching our telecast. Fans will think they are playing a video game or watching a sci-fi movie, but they’ll actually be viewing football as never presented before.”