Big-time sports are coming to virtual reality – Digiday

On July 29, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet for a friendly match at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. This time,El Clsico the name given to any match between the Spanish rivals, which have met more than 200 times will make its virtual reality debut.

NextVR, a VR publishing startup focused on live sports and events, is planning a full production of El Clsico. This includes streaming a pregame show, all of the on-field action, a VR version of Marc Anthonys halftime show and a postgame wrapup. NextVR will set up 11 fixed VR cameras and 12 roving cameras around the stadium, with a production team of 35 people manning the entire effort. On the broadcast, veteran MLS sportscaster Mark Rogondino will call the play-by-play, and former soccer players Mnica Gonzlez and Heath Pearce will serve as analysts.

Everything youd expect from a traditional broadcast, you will see in our own broadcast, said Josh Earl, NextVRs head of sports.This includes mini-features NextVR will shoot in the days leading up to the game, during the traditional El Clsico celebrity and alumni games, VIP parties in Miami, both teams practices the night before and the fan fest, which will then be rolled into the live coverage.

NextVRs livestream will be available inside its app, which is only available on the Oculus store for Samsung Gear VR device owners and the Google Play Store for Google Daydream owners. That means no 360-degree video version of the livestream will be available anywhere.

While El Clsico is the main event, NextVR will also produce three-minute highlights packages of the eight other games in the International Champions Cup, which features other top-tier European teams such as Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.

NextVRs plans for El Clsico come as the VR publishing startup, which has raised $115 million from investors including Comcast Ventures, Time Warner Investments and entertainment executive Peter Guber,looks to bring more live sports to VR. Last fall, the company partnered with the NBA to stream one regular-season game for free within its VR app. In total, 26 full games were broadcast by NextVR, featuring a production level similar to what the company is planning for El Clsico.

When we started several years ago, wed put the camera down and stream out an experience that would be similar to if you were sitting courtside at the game, said Earl. That was great as a first step for VR, but we also learned that even in VR, fans want all the bells and whistles that come with a traditional broadcast thats why we brought in our own announcers and produced our own segments.

The commitment level is high for NextVR, but as other publishers have seen, true VR lacks an audience. Earl declined to say what sort of viewership last seasons NBA games received on NextVRs app.

Because of the nature of our stereoscopic true VR, [NextVRs content] cant be put on a 360 player on a traditional phone or computer, Earl said. Were new and we know were not up there with TV, but the biggest thing were looking for is growth and we continue to see that.

Image courtesy of LaLigaTicketsOnline.com

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Big-time sports are coming to virtual reality - Digiday