“We have worked with FOX Sports for over a year to test live, virtual reality programming across several sports. This wide-ranging agreement is proof that our technology provides an exciting and compelling option to witness great sporting events in virtual reality. Racing enthusiasts who experience FOX Sports coverage of the DAYTONA 500 in virtual reality will feel as if they are watching the race amongst the fans at the track. The immersive, high-definition virtual reality broadcast will bring fans to the starting line, the middle of the infield and with team racing crews as they change tires on pit row. The live virtual stream includes audio commentary and graphics highlighting the race leaders.” – Brad Allen, executive chairman, NextVR.
Big news from ITA member NextVR! While it’s been building up for a couple years now, NextVR has struck a five year partnership with FOX to deliver sporting events in virtual reality. For those unfamiliar, NextVR develops specialized camera rigs and broadcasting channels to make it possible to enjoy 360-3D / VR content remotely as though you are there in person. More than this, they’ve developed the means to do this live so people can enjoy the experiences from anywhere in the world as it happes. Provided the experience looks good, this tech makes it possible for a nearly unlimited number of users to enjoy the experiences as though they are there in person.
NextVR’s next gig from FOX is the DAYTONA 500 taking place this coming Sunday afternoon at 1:00PM EST. NextVR has built their own content portal, and Samsung Gear VR users are encouraged to download the NextVR app from http://www.nextvr.com/gearvr-live.