The Sacramento Kings Are Going To Start Using Google Glass in their Broadcasts

SacBee - Chalk up another first for the tech-obsessed Sacramento Kings – a game broadcast in part via Google Glass. After several days of hints, the Kings made it official Tuesday, announcing that they will deploy the emerging Google Glass technology to juice up the telecast of Friday night’s game vs. Indiana. The Kings said they will become the first pro sports team to use Google Glass. Up to a dozen Kings employees and others connected to the organization – including one or two of the Kings dancers and team mascot Slamson – are expected to wear the special eyewear as they roam the sidelines and make their way through Sleep Train Arena. The glasses are outfitted with tiny cameras, and video feeds will be incorporated into the broadcast on News10 and the Jumbotron screen at the arena. What’s seen on Google Glass will supplement, not replace, the usual camera angles. Butler said it’s still unclear who will wear the glasses. Players aren’t allowed to wear them on the court during games, but some Kings might wear them as they run through the tunnel onto the court, or during introductions of the starting lineups, Butler said. He said it’s uncertain if any coaches will wear them. “That’s something we haven’t really put on the table,” he said. He added that the Google Glass video will probably be used mainly for replays, not live action. Team president Chris Granger said Friday’s broadcast could be just a hint of what’s to come with Google Glass, particularly as fans start wearing the devices to games. “Fans could simply aim their smart devices to inherit someone else’s Google Glass view, or evaluate concessions lines,” Granger said in a prepared statement. “It is just a matter of time before Google Glass is an integral part of the fan experience of watching live sports.”

It’s only a matter of time until players are wearing these and we have the option of not only watching a full game via Google Glass, but we get to choose what player’s glasses we are watching from. Just keep it on Lebon’s feed so you can stare at the roof of the arena for 75% of the game. It’s the obvious next step. Like how ESPN did the BCS Championship Game on 9 different channels with 100 different views, they will for sure be doing a channel with Google Glass views within the next few years. And I’m all about it. Would be cool as shit to see a game from the QB’s POV. Of course the old, lame current commissioners of all the pro sports won’t let their guys wear these, but I do think within 10 years it will happen. And you have to believe every AA baseball PR guy is trying to make his team be the first to wear them, because I’m fairly sure AA baseball teams have no rules they need to follow. The only downside which is on them not me is when the glasses get smashed and a guy has an eye full of broken glass, but I’m just here supplying the ideas, they can figure the rest out.