Digital Transformation Consulting

The case study focuses on ESPN’s implementation of generative AI to enhance sports coverage for niche sports such as professional lacrosse and women’s professional soccer. ESPN faced the challenge of providing in-depth game recaps and content for a broader array of sports that traditionally lacked extensive coverage, aiming to deepen fan engagement and offer more tailored content. To address this, Accenture partnered with ESPN’s Edge Innovation Center to develop a generative AI solution that creates compelling summaries of games, leveraging a specialized dataset consisting of ESPN and league-licensed data, including box scores, play-by-play details, rosters, standings, and audio transcripts where available. The AI tool generates accessible game recaps for fans, which are subsequently reviewed by ESPN editors before being published on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.

As a result of this tailored solution, ESPN significantly scaled its ability to produce and distribute content across a diverse range of sports and moments, thereby expanding coverage of sports that previously received less emphasis. This innovation allowed ESPN to deliver more detailed and rapid content to niche sports communities, enhancing overall fan engagement by making sports coverage more accessible, personalized, and immediate for fans of leagues such as Premier Lacrosse League and National Women’s Soccer League.