Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Buck confirmed earlier this year that Fox will be using fake crowd noise during MLB and NFL games at empty stadiums this year, and also noted that his employer was working on creating “virtual fans” to give the appearance of a normal crowd.
We’ve seen various solution to the empty seat problem in leagues across the world, from cardboard cutouts of actual fans, to looped video of fans on a video board, a South Korean soccer team’s misguided decision to put sex dolls in the seats. Nothing can adequately replace an actual crowd of people – but Fox revealed footage of its cheering, booing virtual fans on Thursday, and they… have potential. They also look like characters from The Sims.
At a glance, you might be fooled into thinking there are actually fans in the seats – but it’s difficult to judge based on a short Twitter video. The real test will come on Saturday with fans watching on 4K TVs at home.
