There haven’t been many instances of artificial intelligence in sports media that have been met with a positive reaction. You can now add Canada’s Rogers-owned Sportsnet to that list thanks to a video they put out on social media ahead of Wednesday’s first game of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, featuring their analysts as…AI-generated babies? With a strange behind-the-scenes look at how the segment broke down?
These AI-generated animations of Sportsnet/CBC’s pregame, between-periods, and postgame show panelists — Ron MacLean, Kelly Hrudey, Elliotte Friedman, and Kevin Bieksa — are quite something. And they garnered a lot of criticism, including from ex-ESPN figure Keith Olbermann (who has previously expressed a lot of opinions on Canadian hockey coverage):
This fits into a wider recent tradition of media companies and leagues utilizing AI, often getting criticism for doing so. However, it’s interesting to observe this particular usage in conjunction with a specific AI video creator and the backlash it drew.
Unlike some of those other moves, this isn’t new content enabled by AI, unlike a translation or a personalized highlight. It’s pregame analysis content Sportsnet would usually have done with conventional video of these analysts. However, for some reason, they chose to partner with an AI company to release this, featuring baby versions of these analysts, and that was far from universally well-received.