In 1995, “Machine Translation” was one of the great concerns among professional translators, trained and schooled to properly deliver the right syntax, phrasing and colloquial words that a computer could not.
Nearly 30 years later, translation and dubbing services may not require a human after all, thanks to artificial intelligence and its rapid ascent in the broadcast media marketplace. And, among its first users, is Sinclair Inc.
Generative AI use at the multimedia company led by Chris Ripley that has taken a key role in the rollout of ATSC 3.0 digital broadcast transitions and a shift to NEXTGEN GEN has arrived.
It is being employed at cable TV network Tennis Channel, for the series “Petko Unfiltered.”
As Baltimore-headquartered Sinclair sees it, this marks the company’s first steps into usage of generative artificial intelligence within its original content to reach more audiences globally in their native languages.
Specifically, AI will be used for language translation across several properties, beginning with “Petko Unfiltered,” a Tennis Channel series with network analyst Andrea Petkovic, a former WTA world top 10 player that offers views a first-person perspective on trending tennis topics.
The episodes, which are recorded and presented by Tennis Channel in English in several European countries and on the T2 digital multicast network in the United States, will be translated into Spanish to air on Tennis Channel in Spain beginning later this month.
For this initiative, Sinclair has collaborated with generative AI video company HeyGen, which specializes in voice translation and lip-sync services.
For full transparency, the episodes will include a disclosure slate explaining the AI usage and a QR code linking to https://tennis.com/ai which will provide a comparison of episode language versions.
“Generative AI is set to transform the world we live in; and Sinclair is enthusiastic about leveraging the technology to make our original content accessible to a bigger audience through language translation,” said Sinclair President/CEO Chris Ripley. “At the same time, we believe that upholding ethical standards in media through AI implementation is paramount. We recognize our duty to employ AI with integrity and transparency, to safeguard not only our industry’s reputation but also the trust of our audiences. At Sinclair, we take this responsibility seriously, which is why we have chosen to voluntarily and proactively join the leading organizations dedicated to promoting responsible practices.”
Sinclair is a member of organizations working to protect content provenance and address misinformation including Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), a leader in the global effort to address digital misinformation and content authenticity, focused on promoting and providing an open, cross-industry approach to media transparency, and the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), a formal coalition dedicated exclusively to drafting technical standards and specifications as a foundation for universal content provenance.
In addition, Sinclair has created an internal, interdepartmental AI workgroup to facilitate knowledge sharing, governance, compliance, and strategic guidance across the company: SAIF – Sinclair AI Forum.
