Virtual reality (VR) is becoming an important outlet for a range of content, not just videogames, with social, teaching and more being experimented with. Another is news, with outlets such as The New York Times and CNN branching into the field with immersive reports and documentaries from around the world. Now the latter as announced CNNVR, a dedicated unit and platform from within CNN Digital.
With a global team with offices based in New York, Atlanta, London, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Dubai, Johannesburg, Tokyo, and Beijing, CNNVR aims to cover the latest news events in 360-degree video, so that users have a front row seat through VR live streams. The unit will also produce weekly immersive experiences, for the launch its created Go running with the bulls in Pamplona.
With the announcement CNNVR will also be making access to its content even easier, with support across a range of platforms. CNN’s iOS and Android apps now support 360-degree video, then there’s CNN.com/VR which showcases journeys to Indonesia, Tibet, Iraq and more. Lastly there’s CNNVR’s app for Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift and Google Daydream head-mounted displays (HMDs).
CNN has been involved with VR for quite some time, having created more than 50 news stories in 360-degree video. These have included the Syrian civil war, showcasing the devastation of Aleppo, collaborating with NextVR to live stream the Democratic presidential debate, as well as the U.S. Inauguration. For slightly lighter content viewers can also experience the thrill of skydiving. So far more than 30 million views of 360 content have been garned on Facebook alone, states the broadcaster.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of CNNVR, reporting back with the latest announcements.