The entire world of live sports was thrown into a black hole the minute COVID-19 restrictions started getting cemented into our reality, and now football's Premier League will be affected.
It returns on June 17 and has Sky Sports teaming with EA FIFA on providing digital channel viewers an option of something that has never been done before: a secondary audio track. This secondary audio track will boast fake crowd cheers, boos, and chants that have been used in FIFA games. Yeah, I'm serious.
Sky Sports MD Robert Webster explains: "With live sport on hold for over two months, we've spent a lot of time thinking about how we (can) broadcast in new ways to bring fans together, even if they can't meet up to watch the match. We want Sky Sports viewers to still feel it all and have the best possible viewing experience, even if they can't be in the stadiums or watch with their family and friends".
Football (or soccer, depending on where you're from) isn't the first to bend around COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, with pro-wresting outfits like WWE and AEW using their own roster members in the chairs. If not, they shot matches in completely different alternate locations -- hell, in South Korea they're filling stadiums with... Pokemon plush toys.
Gotta social distance them all, right?! Bad joke, bad joke. OK I'm done here now.
Uh...
