LAFC will offer stadium goers on-field audio via their phones
It's all thanks to a technology developed by a startup called Mixhalo.
For as much as cable networks have worked to improve the at-home sports viewing experience in recent years, there’s still nothing quite like traveling to your local stadium to see your hometown team play. But you do give up on things like play-by-play announcements when you make the trip. A company called Mixhalo wants to give sports fans the best of both worlds. The startup, which was co-founded by Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger, signed a deal this week with the Los Angeles Football Club to equip the team’s Banc of California Stadium with its wireless audio technology.
"The idea is to transport someone in the back row down to the action on the field," Einziger said of the tech to Axios. With the Mixhalo app installed on your phone and a pair of headphones at the ready, you’ll be able to listen to play-by-play audio, Spanish language radio and exclusive content from goals and the 3252 fan section while you’re in the stands.
The company claims you’ll hear everything with little to no latency, so there won’t be any delay between what you’re seeing on the field and what you’re hearing broadcast to your phone. In the future, the plan is to give fans the chance to listen to other exclusive audio content, such as player and celebrity interviews. Mixhalo says the use case for its technology isn’t limited to sports only either. Music fans who travel to the stadium to attend a live concert will get to take advantage as well.
It will be interesting to see if the technology catches with other teams. Los Angeles F.C. is the first Major League Soccer franchise to sign a deal with Mixhalo. Other franchises could see the tech as a way to entice fans back to crowded stadiums once the pandemic is over.
