Peacock Graphic, Courtesy of NBC
Story By: CJ Boone, BuzzStaff Writer
NBC’s Peacock is looking to bring the true stadium feel right to your own living room. The service is planning to add a feature so viewers can mute the broadcast announcers and hear only the stadium noise. Students on campus are divided on Peacock implementing their new feature for its subscribers.
“I would mute the announcers,” says SAU senior Kiylyn Black. “Some announcers go too far when a team is losing. Other than that, we need announcers; they make every game 10 times better; they keep the crowd hype.”
Peacock says it will ultimately give fans full control over the amount of crowd volume or announcer volume they hear during a sporting event. This feature has been discussed for many years amongst sports fans who prefer not to hear certain announcers or think there is not enough ambient noise during broadcasts.
Freshman journalism major Collen Mauga says, “I would use the feature occasionally, depending on who is calling the game that day.”
The new feature will be powered by “Dolby AC4 technology” to give fans a new, unique way to watch games from home. Peacock will change the game with live events when this feature is released.
“I personally don’t care for the full control of my experience while watching sports,” says production major Callie Thomas. “I wouldn’t really mind either way. Whether the announcer is mute or not, it doesn’t make too much of a difference for me anyway.”
The network says it hopes to appeal to all fans; however, some fans still prefer traditional broadcasting. SAU senior, Joseph Vollmer, states, “I think I’d find the feature interesting to try, but I’d imagine it would get boring without the actual announcer commentary.”
Sports fans range from all ages with opinions and preferences for what they want while watching a sporting event. However, even in the younger demographic, some fans say they would prefer a more traditional broadcast.
“I would prefer to watch the game as it is intended to be on a broadcast, says SAU senior Abbigail Moraetes. “I feel like the announcers are there to do their job and attempt to do it to the best of their ability and should have their talents showcased.
“If we just mute them, they wouldn’t have a job anymore. Plus, my boyfriend is a play-by-play announcer, so he would end up getting replaced by a robot or something.”
Peacock has not stated when they will install the feature. It could be available for the 2026 MLB season, according to the Sports Business Journal, If technology and tests go well for NBC.
