📺 When NBC Brings Back a Voice from the Past Using AI—What It Teaches IT Leaders in 2025 🧠
1. NBC's AI Revival of Jim Fagan’s Voice
NBC is resurrecting legendary NBA voiceover talent Jim Fagan through AI for the upcoming 2025–26 season—following their successful use of AI to recreate Al Michaels’s voice during the Paris Olympics. The technology will be used for broadcast intros and promotional material, giving fans a familiar voice with a modern twist (TechRadar, The Verge).
This isn't just nostalgia—it’s a technological showcase:
AI-powered media enhancements: Cloning voices for promos and intros.
Brand consistency plus innovation: Marrying emotional resonance with futuristic tech.
Ethical collaboration: NBC sought and received permission from Fagan’s family, modeling responsible AI use.
2. What IT Teams Can Learn from Broadcasting’s AI Adoption
a) Blend Legacy with Innovation
NBC’s approach shows how legacy content (like Fagan’s voice) can be revitalized using modern toolchains.
🔧 IT Lesson: Integrate existing systems with new AI pipelines to drive creativity while preserving brand identity.
b) Elevate User Experience through Contextual AI
Rather than a full voice replacement, NBC uses AI selectively—for intros and teasers, not the entire broadcast.
🔧 IT Lesson: Embed intelligence where it matters most—like anomaly detection in critical dashboards—not everywhere you can.
c) Prioritize Ethical Use and Transparency
NBC obtained explicit family consent and made their process public.
🔧 IT Lesson: Implement governance around AI usage—consent, bias audits, traceable models—especially when user trust is at stake.
3. Data-Driven Storytelling in Newsrooms
Meanwhile, CNN’s data analysts (like Harry Enten) are becoming as recognizable as anchors. Using interactive visuals, polling insights, and statistical breakdowns, CNN is modeling what effective real-time, narrative-based analytics can look like in any organization.
IT Takeaway: Combine backend data analysis with frontend storytelling—auto-generated analytics shouldn’t be left in silos. Consider real-time internal dashboards that narrate trends in plain language.
4. Why These Trends Matter to IT Departments
Trend
Business Insight
AI-enhanced legacy media
You can modernize without discarding history.
Targeted intelligence embedding
Smarter systems mean fast wins, not full rip-and-replace.
Governance-first AI deployment
Legal, ethical, and reputational risks are manageable—not burdensome.
Story-centric analytics
Data comprehension across teams builds alignment—no guru needed.
🔁 Back to the Bigger Picture: AI in IT
NBC’s voice cloning is a headline grabber, but it’s part of a much broader shift: AI is becoming deeply embedded in IT operations. From ticket triage bots and smart monitoring to AI-assisted coding, companies are learning that:
AI isn’t just futuristic—it’s operational.
The winners aren’t those with the flashiest models, but the clearest use cases.
Without solid infrastructure, governance, and strategy, even the best AI can fail.
That’s where we come in.
🛠️ How Ferrous Equine Technologies Can Help
We specialize in helping growing organizations take the hype out of AI—and turn it into something useful. Whether you're:
Building smart analytics dashboards
Cleaning up your data infrastructure
Evaluating how (or whether!) to integrate AI into your processes
Making sure your tools talk to each other
We’ve got your back—with clear, grounded advice and a plan that works for your team.
Let’s figure out what smarter IT looks like for you—no gimmicks, no magic wands, just secure, scalable, intelligent systems that make sense.
🧠
📞 info@ferrousequinetechnologies.com
🔗 www.ferrousequinetechnologies.com
Citations:
“NBC resurrects legendary NBA voice Jim Fagan using AI.” TechRadar, June 2025.
“NBC will use Jim Fagan's AI-generated voice for NBA coverage.” The Verge, June 2025.