Fan of LeBron James but couldn’t care less about the Lakers? Well, then I’ve got some good news for you. Soon you’ll be able to watch LeBron and only LeBron during the second half of a game. Wait. What?
According to Recode:
“Instead of streaming a full game with all the players, graphics, and announcers, starting in February Twitter will stream the second half of some NBA games — yes, only the second half — but the camera will focus on a single player.
During the first half of the game — the half you can’t watch on Twitter — users on the social network can vote at the @NBAonTNT Twitter account on which player they want the camera to focus on in the second half — the half you can watch on Twitter.
Whichever player ‘wins’ will be the sole focus of the second-half live stream, which the NBA is calling ‘iso-cam.’ If that player goes to the bench or fouls out, Twitter users will see the regular game, but from a camera located behind one of the backboards instead of from the typical mid-court angle.”
It’s an interesting concept, giving Twitter a unique perspective that they can market, perhaps leading to an increase in the number of people who would stream a game on their platform. Plus it kind of makes sense for the NBA to be doing this considering that they have always marketed their game around individual star players.
But at the same time isn’t it a little bit creepy? Are the players even okay with this? Will they play worse if they know their every move is going to be analyzed and scrutinized by everyone on Twitter, even more so than usual? Would players have the ability to opt out if they so choose? And will this experiment, if successful, catch on with other sports? With other celebrities and public figures? Will we one day watch an entire movie by following just one actor? Are we really talking about taking voyeurism main-stream? What has the world come to?
Is Iso-Cam the Greatest Idea Ever?