Breaking the Sound Barrier: How Italian Basketball is changing the game for fan access

Italy’s LBA is transforming fan engagement by mic’ing up players and referees, offering unfiltered access. Should we be getting more access to in-action audio? writes David Granger, Director at Arc & Foundry

For those following Formula 1 over the past few races, the topic of driver’s language has been the story du jour.

It’s the vocabulary they use while speaking via team radio to strategists on the pitwall – it has been one which has had drivers react from the vociferous (Lewis Hamilton rightly objected to swearing being associated with rap artists) to the, well… silent. World champion Max Verstappen went all Kimi Raikkonen at the Singapore Grand Prix. The Finnish driver was renowned for his monosyllabic answers in press conferences. Max did the same after being fined and told to do community service for swearing on the team radio.

The sad (although unlikely) thing is, if others follow Verstappen’s lead, we’ll lose one of the more interesting inputs from the drivers. Having been media trained for press conversations to ensure nothing is uttered which might compromise team information, the odd expletive and invective from drivers in the warm-down laps or in the heat of mid-race was a treat for fans. Some of it was funny as well. And F1 wasn’t afraid to use it on social either.

The opposite of this, and perhaps what fans would far prefer is to hear everything that goes on during the action. Which is what’s happening in the second sport biggest league in Italy – the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). They’ve mic’ed up all the players *and* the referee to let fans listen in to the conversations on court in their series Into The Game.

It’s a brave, bold move but means we get to really hear what’s going on both on court and off it. The mics remain hot when the players and coach retire to the changing rooms in between games to berate or celebrate the play.

Into The Game is now in its second season, having launched in 2023-24 and fans can hear the conversation on LBA’s web site (legabasket.it), on their mobile app and via YouYube.

How does it work? A high-quality microphone and transmitter are sealed in the light undershirt under players’ jerseys. The lightweight transmitter is the size of a credit card and made of fabric so won’t injure a player.

The teams have been consulted throughout this process and with respect to ensure nothing affected performance. The mics were initially trialled by the 16 under-19 teams of the Serie A clubs in their Next Gen Tournament.

The players and coaches were asked for their feedback (which was positive), then the mics were tested in practice before the Serie A games proper. And, since the audio is broadcast post-game, clubs give their approval before it goes live.

But the fans love the format and the insight – it’s a unique way to collect and provide exclusive behind-the-scenes content.

The most surprising thing heard so far? The mutual respect shown between ref and players. On the television, on in the stands, you can’t hear really hear what they say to each other. Now we can.

The plan is to keep listening in to players, coaches and refs, but the audio collected will be part of a larger storytelling plan – not simply eavesdropping for the sake of it but enriching a narrative around games and the season.

The great thing is this brings fans closer to the sport without the need to change rules, add layers of augmented reality or gimmicks to grab the attention of newer fans.

The balance to this raw audio is the LBA has invested heavily in super super slo-mo cameras to capture amazing footage of leaps, dunks and moves across court. These are not your average beauty shots, but a real change to the way the league represents the sport, especially on social.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAS-RPyIwGU

Basketball has a rich heritage in Italy, but it is also progressive enough to embrace technology and innovation while retaining those roots. It has its own Derby d’Italia (the original pits Inter against Juventus in soccer) with the rivalry between Olimpia Milano and Virtus Bologna, while it continues to attract sponsorship from major brands such as Unipol, an Italian financial company that is a leader in the insurance and banking sectors, and Frecciarossa, the leading company in managing passenger rail transport that lends its name to the high-speed train. Interestingly, it has a long-term agreement with Infront as marketing advisors, which is clearly paying off.

In audience terms broadcast deals with DAZN and Eurosport, have increased digital broadcast and the LBA’s footprint worldwide, while at arenas the experience is constantly improving, making live attendance even more of an event. And, importantly, the youth development system ensures a steady flow of new talent, to secure the sport’s future growth.

So there is real drive to include and engage existing, and future, spectators from both a high-end technical and more raw access to the audio action, something few sports have tried.

If only F1 could be as bold.