Digital Transformation Consulting

ESPN faced the challenge of expanding its sports coverage to include a wider array of sports, particularly those with smaller fan bases, such as professional lacrosse and women’s professional soccer. The goal was to enhance fan engagement by providing more comprehensive and accessible content tailored to individual sports fans' interests.

To address this issue, Accenture partnered with ESPN through the ESPN Edge Innovation Center to develop a generative AI solution. This innovative tool utilizes a dataset that combines ESPN's own data with league-licensed information, including box scores, play-by-play data, rosters, standings, and schedules, as well as audio transcripts when available. The generative AI system creates compelling game summaries that help fans better understand the games they follow. ESPN editors review these summaries before they are published on ESPN.com and the ESPN app, ensuring quality and relevance.

As a result of implementing this generative AI solution, ESPN has significantly scaled its content creation and distribution capabilities, allowing it to deliver more sports coverage to a broader audience. This initiative not only enhances the fan experience by providing timely and relevant content but also positions ESPN as a leader in sports media innovation, ultimately driving greater fan engagement across a diverse range of sports.