This Week In VR Sport: VR Upgrades in NASCAR and AR Adverts in Baseball

Though the seasons are turning and the weather is developing a chill in the air for many, the sports season just keeps on rolling, complete with new developments that involve immersive technology.

This weekend’s edition sees FOX Sports issues some upgrades to one of its NASCAR Studios while YouTube sports broadcasting courts controversy with augmented reality advertising.

FOX Sports Upgrades Studio With AR and VR For NASCAR

Though the NASCAR season is currently on break, that hasn’t stopped sports channel FOX sports from giving its Charlotte studio a makeover in anticipation of the start of the new season in February 2019.

According to SportTechie, FOX have teamed with virtual reality (VR) production company Zero Density to bring new features that will make use of the studios large green screen area, which spans a fairly impressive 50ft x 47ft.

The new renovations means that studio analysts can trigger AR features on set using Blacktrax 3D tracking technology, which will make the studio look like a race track, or present the appearance of a virtual race car emerging through the set.

“Innovation and ‘what’s next’ thinking have defined the FOX Sports approach from Day 1,” said Mark Silverman, President, National Networks, FOX Sports in a press release. “Working with industry leaders and integrating cutting-edge technology has produced one of the most advanced studios in sports. We are extremely excited to show it off early next year as we get viewers ready for the 2019 Daytona 500 on FOX.”

YouTube TV Present AR Adverts on World Series

For the second year, YouTube TV will be working with Fox to show the World Series after signing an expanded two-year deal with Major League Baseball which would see YouTube TV present the World Series until 2019.

The deal is not without controversy, however, with not all fans and analysts agreeing with the advertising-supported service, which will feature in-game spots, traditional adverts as well as AR advertising.

Fox will insert AR ads for YouTube TV that will appear on-screen before the first pitch and around the seventh inning stretch. These adverts have been designed to appear to be broadcast from the stadium’s video screen.

“The first year was, OK, here’s what it is, and this year, we want to celebrate what it delivers, which is more of what you love,” said Angela Courtin, global head of entertainment, media and experience at YouTube marketing. “The idea of ‘ruining TV’ is one thing. We want to celebrate our subscribers and the power that sports and TV has to bring people together, to elevate mood and excitement and deepen love and engagement,” Courtin said.

Check back next week for some more VR and AR in sport.

June 9, 2018

This Week In VR Sports: Virtual Data Offers New Opportunities

It’s time for another entry of This Week In VR Sport as one again VRFocus brings you a number of sports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories. This week there is a theme of data being used to drive new experiences with Formula E and Virtually Live offering the chance to race against drives in real-time. FOX Sports reveal their Fifa World Cup VR offering and Beyond Sports announces the end of a successful seed funding round.

FOX Sports Unveils VR Options for 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

FOXS Sports Ahead of the upcoming Fifa World Cup in Russia, FOX Sports have revealed a number of different options for viewers to enjoy all the coverage of the event. With 64 matches to enjoy over the event period, there will be plenty to watch and enjoy. Across the FOX Sports App and FOXSports.com, the ‘World Cup Everywhere’ will be the main focus on Match Center, Highlight Machine and Team Channels. For fans of VR though, FOX Sports will be making all 64 matches available in multi-angle, social VR.

Introduced at last season’s Concacaf Gold Cup, FOX Sports will once again team up with LiveLike on bringing a social VR offering to viewers. This includes custom suites and three immersive, multi-angle VR feeds from each of the 64 matches.

FOX Sports’ Highlight Machine, presented by Adidas, will deliver all the highlights to viewers with a one-of-a-kind technology ensuring viewers get the best highlights from each match. By leveraging cognitive highlight and artificial intelligence (AI), users will be able to create their own highlight reel by year, team, player, matches or play type, with the ability to share the highlight to social media.

Elsewhere, viewers will be able to enjoy coverage of matches both before and after each match, views of matches from a ‘tactical view’ camera position high above one of the goals, a birds eye view of matches and around 448 additional hours of coverage across the length of the event on a number of FOX Sports platforms.

Beyond Sports Closes Seed Round Investment

Beyond Sports

Dutch based AI and visualization company, Beyond Sports, which offers VR, AR and MR products to the sports sector announced earlier this week that it had secured $2.36 million (USD) in seed round financing. Driven by their passion for sports and science, the company works to offer solution that use real match data to create virtual simulations of real sports matches, allowing viewing from any perspective, including a players point of view. The technology is designed for use by athletes, coaches, and clubs for training and review purposes with broadcasters able to leverage the technology to offer immersive experiences for fans.

The funding was leg by industry investors including David Blitzer, Seth Bernstein, Alan Goldfarb, Art Wrubel, Eric Aroesty, Scott Krase, Joshua Press and Matt Harris as well as Triple IT, a Dutch based technology company. The money will be used by Beyond Sports to grow its product development team and expand into additional sports and the healthcare markets, primarily within North America.

‘‘Our proprietary visualization engine has been successful in bringing cognition mapping, tactical training and immersive experiences to the forefront of the sports industry. Clubs, leagues, broadcasters and fans are benefitting from player tracking data in unique ways through our VR and AR based solutions” says Jeffrey Saunders, CEO of Beyond Sports.

As Beyond Sports bring to grow their business and expand their product, VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest.

Complete Against Drivers In Real-Time Thanks To Formula E And Virtually Live

Formula E Ghost Racing

The ABB FIA Formula E Championship has announced a partnership with Virtually Live to create a world’s first in eSports by offering fans a chance to race against Formula E drivers in real-time. This opportunity is being made possible thanks to a new ground-breaking live ghost racing application which will be able available across multiple platforms, start with mobile and PC, with full VR integration coming in the future.

By using cutting-edge telemetry and Virtually Live’s proprietary technology platform, allowing a race to be recreated digitally in real-time. The action mirrors the position and order on the track precisely, with options available for fans to clip and share their experiences, achievements and near-misses on social media. This also means they can post their times after a race and claim fame and glory in the ghost racing scene. The new experience allows fans the chance to live the thrill of the race while competing against their favourite drivers.

Markus Tellenbach, CEO of Virtually Live, said: “Having partnered with the ABB FIA Formula E Championship since season two, providing CGI content of races to the world feed and to fans on the VR App Stores – we’re delighted to have signed a strategic long-term partnership with Formula E to provide the world’s first live ghost racing app. Combining the worlds of exciting street racing and gaming, with our innovative immersive technology, Virtually Live and Formula E are defining a new era in esports and engaging and building the fan base. The ghost racing app will allow fans to consume Formula E throughout the year on multiple platforms and share their experiences on social media. We therefore look forward to seeing fans of all abilities – whether a casual gamer on their mobile to an ambitious driver in VR – pitting their skills against the Formula E drivers and their friends. We would like to thank the FIA and Magneti Marelli for their assistance and vision in supporting the partnership.”

You can sign up to be one of the first to play this new title over on the Formula E website and in the meantime you can see it in action in the below video.

That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.

April 7, 2018

This Week In VR Sport: Baseball, Fox Sports And PlayStation VR

The weekend is here so once again VRFocus is here to bring you another edition of This Week in VR Sport. With a number of sports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories, this week has a number of topics that you are sure to find interesting. From Fox Sports investing in AR technology, the Lexington Legends expanding into VR and 2MD: VR Football coming to PlayStation VR, lets jump right in.

Lexington Legends Expanding Into VR

Lexington Legends Promo 01 Major League Baseball team the Lexington Legends are looking to score big in the 2018 season but alongside the matches they will be playing the team is looking to explore new opportunities in VR and AR. Alongside a number of new attractions to help keep visitors entertained team is are setting up a VR simulation that lets users walk onto the field for themselves and try to score big. Standing at the home plate swinging for the fences, users will be right in the heart of the action and be a part of the Lexington Legends.

Elsewhere, team president and CEO Andry Shea revealed that the team have been working with a local development company to create an “augmented reality game where kids and other people will be able to participate on their phones and find player cards and stuff like that throughout the facility”. Shea continued saying “We just want to continue to reinvest in the kids that come to the ballpark, that’s what it’s all about for us is the families and the kids. We want to be able to provide as much cool and contemporary entertainment as we can.”

VRFocus will be sure to bring you more on this in the future.

Fox Sports South To Bring AR Technology To Studio Coverage

Fox Sports South AR

For Sports South and Fox Sports Southeast will be launching AR technology during live studio coverage, the network announced this week. The network has already carried out a soft-launch of the technology last month during their Atlanta Hawks studio shows. The aim is to use the AR solution to enhance the viewing experience by superimposing computer-generated imaging over the live broadcast.

“Enhancing the viewing experience is the number one priority in every FOX Sports event telecast,” said Jeff Genthner, senior vice president and general manager, FOX Sports South &FOX Sports Southeast. “Augmented reality is the latest addition to our many cutting edge production enhancements to fulfill our commitment in providing the very best fan experience insports television.”

The technology will be launched later this year and be included in most if not all coverage from then on. The new AR features will also be viewable during live game coverage on the Fox SportsGO app, that provides live streaming of video content direct to the user.

Recap: 2MD: VR Football Coming To PlayStation VR

In case you missed it, earlier this week Truant Pixel announced that their American Football arcade experience that puts you in the shoes of a quarterback will be coming to PlayStation VR this spring. After a release on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive last September, the PlayStation VR release of the title is a welcome addition.

Rather than a complete game of American Football, 2MD: VR Football has all the action happen in the space of two minutes in which the player must capture victory for their team. Players need to make a plan on how to score in those last moments of the match and tell their team what to do, when to throw, when to run and even take down opponents before time runs out.

Writing on the PlayStation Blog, Maher Al-Samkari, President, Truant Pixel LLC also noted several unique PlayStation VR features: “In addition to building from the ground-up for PSVR, we’ve taken the time to add even more to round out the experience: We’ve enlisted the talents of professional voice actors like SungWon Cho (@prozdkp) as coach, Xander Mobus (of Persona 5 and Super Smash Bros) as our announcer, and David Wald (@davidwald_va) to voice some of our players. The PS VR release of 2MD also features music by up-and-coming Hip-hop artist K.Carter, whose fight song “Down the Field” plays during the championship game.”

2MD: VR Football will be releasing on PlayStation VR this Spring.

That is all for this week in the world of VR Sports. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.

January 6, 2018

This Week in VR Sport: Fox Sports in AR and Yarde Spectates Himself

2018 has only just kicked off and we’re already seeing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology move further and further into the mainstream space and, of course, we’ve got more sports news to report on. Sports teams and broadcasters around the world are quickly coming to terms with how VR and AR can enhance the experience for fans, and they’re wasting no time getting started.

2018 has only just begun, but the year is already looking incredibly promising…

Fox Sports Preparing for Augmented Reality SkyCam

Needless to say, if Fox Sports are broadcasting a live sports event, the stadium will be well equipped. Dozens of cameras capable of super slow-mo action, and SkyCams so every angle is recorded for posterity. Fox are now looking towards AR to make their broadcasts more interesting and interactive than ever before.

In collaboration with Sports Media Technologies, SkyCam and Vizrt, Mike Davies has said that they are putting “together a recipe” for AR technology to work with the SkyCam.

“It’s a bit of an orchestration because the pilot of the SkyCam needs to be flying around the object as if it were an object on the field. If you break through it, it’s not going to look real,” says Davies.

As reported by TVTechnology, the set up should allow Fox Sports to put lines down the football fields and have motion graphics and other effects on the 2D field, but with motion tracking so the elements can follow players and locations accurately. We look forward to seeing the tech in action.

Boxer Anthony Yarde Spectates His Own Match in 360

Hearing your own voice on a recording is weird. Seeing yourself in videos can be odd, too. Now, seeing yourself in full 3D, punching another man in the face? It’s an experience not many of us will have, but Anthony Yarde seems to enjoy the show.

Watching his previous victory in 360 degrees thanks to BT Sport, Yarde is visibly elated seeing himself move around the boxing ring, and enjoys taking a look at the commentators, too. Well worth watching Yarde get excited about his shining moment.

Colleage Football App Comes with Augmented Reality Features

It won’t be long until you can just point your phone at anything in the world and get a detailed read out of information about it. Augmented reality technology almost guarantees it’ll happen; but before that, we’ll be able to scan sports team logos to buy tickets and get information about our favourite teams.

As reported by Sports Techie, the app will be built by Mandt Media, who have worked with sports teams on VR and AR applications before. CEO Neil Mandt has said; “Location-based augmented reality is something that’s going to go beyond just events, it’s going to become part of our lives. Users can get information quickly using the device in their pocket.”

For all of the latest updates in the world of VR and AR in sport, make sure to keep reading VRFocus.

August 19, 2017

This Week in VR Sport: VR Sport Gets Its Own Dedicated Summit

If you’re a regular VRFocus reader you’ll know two things about the weekend. That there’s sport on Saturday and there’s jobs on Sunday, and, since it is the former as opposed to the latter it’s best we kick things off by going into just what you may have missed in recent times relating to sport and virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology.

Dutch Football To Get More VR Coverage

If you own a Samsung Gear VR and are a fan football from the Dutch football league then we have some very good news for you.

Earlier this week it was announced in a press release that Beyond Sports would be partnering with FOX Sports Eredivisie to provide a free virtual reality (VR) app which will provide highlights of the games from the weekend – but from the player’s perspective. The app will also provide virtual pundritry in the form of specially created VR aspects from the Dutch sports show De Eretribune.

It is not the first time the pair have teamed up. Having previously broadacast footage of the match between Dutch heavy hitters Feyenoord vs PSV during last season. In what may well have proven a successful enough endeavour to allow this season’s coverage. The first effort back in February this year also contained VR analysis from football highlights show Dit was het Weekend (pictured below).

Beyond Sports are also looking to supply other android-based smartphone VR platforms, specifically the Google headsets. “At first only Dutch consumers who own a Samsung Gear VR will be able to download the app and watch the highlights.” The company notes in its press release. “However, Beyond Sports is working on developing a version that will support Google cardboards which will make sure that any high-end phone will be able to use this application.”

VRFocus will bring you more news on this as the service develops.

VR Sport Gets Its Own Event

As I mentioned earlier in the week, when it comes to VR events, meetups, workshops etc you can get to the point where you’re practically tripping over them if you’re not careful. One thing that we have not had however is an event specialising in VR and its connection to sport.

Until now.

November sees San Francisco host the World Virtual & Augmented Reality Sports Innovation Summit 2017 which I can announce that VRFocus will be supporting as a Media Partner.

Taking place across November 15th and 16th 2017, the event is looking to bring together key stateholders from the world of sport around the world to discuss the applications of VR tech in a changing entertainment world. The advisory board and speakers confirmed for the event already include

Advisory Board & Speakers Include:

David Young, Vice President of Operations, Seattle Seahawks
Johannes Holzmuller, Head of Technology Innovation, FIFA
William Deng, Director Media Strategy & Business Development, NFL
Mandy Rutledge, Sports Partnerships Director, Microsoft
Robert Alberino Jr, Vice President / Executive Producer, San Francisco 49ers
Rod Nenner, Vice President, Washington Redskins
Michael Davies, Senior Vice President Technical & Field Operations, FOX Sports
Betsy Girder, Managing Director Technology Development, NASCAR
Tom Sahara, Vice President Operations & Technology, Turner Sports
Mounir Zok, Director of Technology & Innovation, US Olympic Committee
Costa Kladianos, Director of Information Technology, Tennis Canada
Alex Jacques, Director of Events, The Madison Square Garden Company
Jesse Nunez, Director of Corporate Partnerships, Los Angeles Dodgers

Tickes are already available for the event at http://www.virtual-reality-sports-innovation.com/booking/.

July 12, 2017

GoPro Ships First ‘Fusion’ 360 Cameras to 10 Select Broadcasters

GoPro’s first batch of Fusion 360 cameras is now headed to some big brands, agencies and content creators as part of a pilot program to help source initial content partners.

GoPro started taking applications in April. Picking from a pool of more than 20,000 applicants, the company has chosen 10 prospective 360 content creators to receive their unreleased 5.2k spherical video camera. Recipients include travel vlogger Louis Cole (‘FunForLouis’), the Golden State Warriors, USA TODAY NETWORK, FOX Sports, AccuWeather, Digital Domain, Getty Images, Legend 3D, Inc., Rapid VR, and RYOT.

“GoPro’s efforts to advance immersive capture are impressive and we’re excited to get our hands on Fusion,” said Michael Davies, FOX Sports SVP Field & Technical Operations. “We have a great slate of programming we’re hoping to experiment with using Fusion, including the CONCACAF Gold Cup, UFC and NCAA Football season this fall.”

“We are excited to get Fusion into the hands of creative professionals, both to see the content they create and also to receive feedback that helps us refine the overall user experience for when we launch Fusion to a broader audience later this year,” said Nicholas Woodman, founder and CEO at GoPro.

According to a hands-on by Apple Insider, the GoPro Fusion is fairly compact, fitting into a body slightly thinner than an Apple AirPort Express. Viewing through a Samsung Gear VR, Apple Insider reports that footage captured by the Fusion was clean and seamless thanks to GoPro’s software which “largely eliminated stitching between the twin lenses, and deleted any trace of unsightly mounts.”

Fusion will also come with special software for editing to make it easier for the average consumer to use the footage without being familiar with 360-degree video.

GoPro is launching a limited commercial release of Fusion by the end of 2017. No details on pricing or hard technical specs are currently available.

Applications for the Fusion Pilot Program are still open. the company expects to add more pilot partners to the program later this summer.

The post GoPro Ships First ‘Fusion’ 360 Cameras to 10 Select Broadcasters appeared first on Road to VR.

July 1, 2017

This Week in VR Sport: LiveLike & Fox Sports, FC Barcelona v Real Madrid C.F and SAP Catamaran VR Experience

It’s the start of a new month but the end of June had plenty to offer in the way of virtual reality (VR) sporting announcements. LiveLike has teamed up with Fox Sports to broadcast three Gold Cup games, later this month NextVR will broadcast El Clásico live for the first time and German tech company SAP has created an immersive experience on board a catamaran.

LiveLike and Fox Sports to Broadcast Three Gold Cup Games in 360 as Part of new ‘Virtual Suite’

Fox Sports has been a regular on This Week in VR Sports, having partnered with another regular NextVR on boxing as well as other sports including American Football. This week however is the turn of traditional (European) football – or soccer if you like – with Fox partnering with San Francisco-based startup LiveLike to showcase three Gold Cup matches in 360-degrees.

This is all part of a new virtual suite powered by LiveLike called Fox Sports VR App, with the CONCACAF Soccer Gold Cup being used to promote the app. Users get to overlook the field, being able to select different camera angles, checkout the suite and chat with friends – represented by basic avatars, view pre-produced content, and more.

To see what it’s all about take a look at the video below. The matches begin at the end of the week with the US team playing Panama on 8th July.

NextVR to Live Broadcast FC Barcelona v Real Madrid C.F This Month

Regular VRFocus readers should be well aware of NextVR by now, as the company tends to be fairly prominent in the field of 360-degree sports broadcasting. Later this month El Clásico Miami will be taking place, featuring football heavy weights FC Barcelona and Real Madrid C.F., and naturally NextVR will be livestreaming the proceedings.

La Liga rivals FC Barcelona and Real Madrid C.F. will be going head to head on 29th July, 2017 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, with Real Madrid C.F. making a record fifth appearance in the International Champions Cup (ICC), having played in every year of the tournament’s history.

NextVR will be broadcasting El Clásico live in 360-degrees for the first time. It’ll feature dedicated announcers, the halftime show experience and behind-the-scenes footage exclusive to VR headsets. Multiple cameras positioned along the pitch and throughout Hard Rock Stadium will transport fans into the heart of the action.

Fans with a Samsung Gear VR headset or Google Daydream View, can download the free NextVR app from the Oculus Store or the Google Play Store respectively.

El Clasico Miami Logo

Go Extreme Sailing with SAP+You: The Smarter Skipper Experience

Ever wanted to see what extreme sailing on vessels like a catamaran is all about but never quite fancied all the pressure and stress that goes with it? Well SAP, a German tech company that’s fond of sponsoring this type of sport has created an immersive experience called SAP+You: The Smarter Skipper experience.

The experience puts the viewer on a replica catamaran, getting up close and personal with the extreme sailors. Fans of extreme sailing will get be able to get greater insight into the sport, watching the sailors race whilst being fed relevant data such as real-time wind conditions, boat speed and water currents.

“When you get to sit on the boat virtually, you almost feel how it lifts up and picks up speed,” said Milan Cerny, the technology and innovation lead of SAP’s Global Sponsorships business, reports SportTechie.

“In virtual reality, you’re in the middle of the action,” Cerny added. “You’re getting the thrill, understanding what’s going on and how (sailors) are interacting with what devices on the boat and deciding where they should go. You could see how far competitors are behind you, if they’re approaching the boat. It’s an interactive way and playful way to understand the measures that are important to win a race.”

February 25, 2017

This Week in VR Sports: NextVR and FOX Sports Broadcasting Premier Boxing Champions, We Are Baseball To Open 2017 National Tour

Virtual reality (VR) in sport this week includes NextVR and Fox Sports collaborating Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) matches live in 360-degrees and We Are Baseball brings its cutting edge baseball experience to fans in Scottsdale at Salt Rivers Field.

NextVR and FOX Sports to Bring LIVE Virtual Reality to Heavyweight Title Fight on the Premier Boxing Champions Card

Today 360-degree broadcaster NextVR and Fox Sports will broadcast the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) matches live in VR starting at 8:00 pm ET. The experience will be available for free through the NextVR app in the FOX Sports VR channel and will feature three matches including the heavyweight title fight between WBC world champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs) and unbeaten heavyweight Gerald “El Gallo Negro” Washington (18-0-1, 12 KOs).

Match Schedule:

Match 1: 10-round heavyweight fight between hard-hitting Dominic Breazeale (17-1, 15 KOs) and undefeated Izuagbe Ugonoh (17-0, 14 KOs).
Match 2: Junior middleweight title fight between once-beaten Tony Harrison (24-1, 20 KOs) and undefeated Jarrett Hurd (19-0, 13 KOs) in a 12-round affair for a vacant 154-pound world championship.
Match 3: Title fight between undefeated heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (37-0-0, 36 KOs) as he defends his world title and unbeaten contender Gerald Washington (18-0-1, 12 KOs).

To watch the matches on NextVR you’ll need either a Samsung Gear VR or Google Daydream View head-mounted display (HMD).

NextVR & Fox Sports Premier Boxing

We Are Baseball; One-Of-A-Kind Baseball And Technology Experience To Open 2017 National Tour In Scottsdale During Spring Training

We Are Baseball, a cutting-edge collaboration of baseball and technology, will be heading Scottsdale at Salt Rivers Field at Talking Stick during Spring Training for two weeks in March. It’ll feature VR experiences, an original IMAX movie and specially curated artifacts from The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

On show will be MLBAM’s immersive content created in partnership with Jaunt of the 2016 Postseason. This gives fans an up close and personal experience of being present next to the game’s brightest stars, on field, in the dugout and even in the clubhouse. Jaunt also presents an emotionally-charged storyline featuring behind-the-scenes access, to the most meaningful moments from the very first clinch all the way through the final out of the World Series – and even the championship parade through Chicago.

There will also be MLBAM’s newest mobile video game – Home Run Derby. Originally released in December, the title allows fans to compete in the Home Run Derby using VR technology with 3D environments modeled on eight iconic ballparks.

New to We Are Baseball in 2017, “Squaring Up” will be special interactive sessions with prominent figures in baseball and entertainment, including Hall of Famers. These hour-long sessions will feature a live interview, followed by a Town Hall style conversation with the studio audience.

We Are Baseball and the Hall of Fame Tour will be open daily at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick from 11th – 26th March 2017.

We Are Baseball

February 4, 2017

This Week in VR Sport: The Superbowl Goes Virtual, F1 Looks To The Future

February’s first weekly roundup of all things virtual reality (VR) in the world of sport sees a number of sporty game titles revealed and updates in the world of several other sports. Including some intriguing comments as one discipline enters a new era.

Superbowl VR ‘Near Real-Time’ Highlights Packages Planned Courtesy Of LiveLike VR

One of the biggest sporting events on the planet is not that far away, and whilst the battle between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons is still very much up in the air there is good news. Thanks to Fox Sports and LiveLike VR, highlights of the Superbowl itself are coming to VR.

Revealed by Digital Trends, you’ll be able to see twenty broadcast packages, including the key moments from each quarter of the fifty-first Superbowl and a number of items supporting the event as a whole. Captured in 4K resolution via six cameras dotted around the stadium and all uploaded and available to watch via the Fox Sports VR app. Not only that LiveLike are taking another step towards having full games shown in VR by providing these package almost in real-time.

How close is almost? No one is quite sure. “We’ve never really done real-time highlights, which is a pretty big deal.” Admitted LiveLike’s CBO Miheer Walavalkar.

FOX Sports/ Livelike / NCAA Football

Formula 1’s New Owners Look To The Future

Formula One is under new ownership – and seemingly nothing is off the table.

After completing purchase of the controlling stake in the Formula One Group, the company that runs the ‘business’ of F1 from previous owner and long-term stalwart of the sport Bernie Ecclestone, new owners Liberty Media have been doing the rounds speaking to press and trying to lay out their vision for what the future of the sport may be. New Chairman of F1 Chase Carey spoke to the BBC in an interview, and the subject of VR came up. Other motor sports, notably up-and-coming classification Formula E, have been experimenting with the tech.

Chase Carrey

When asked whether or not VR and other new technologies could attract new viewers to the sport Carey was buoyant about the prospects.

“There’s a list of opportunities that this sport is almost built for. And really at it’s core what you want to do is give the fan as experience that’s as close to driving one of these cars as possible. So whether that’s cameras, or virtual reality, or gaming, or the live experience at the track technology provides us- and the various digital platforms out there provide us- more and more the experience that they’re right there with the driver. And those opportunities really are just going to continue to expand; because there really is no sport that is so built for the technologies of today and tomorrow like Formula 1.”

That’s been This Week in VR Sport, come back next week for another of VRFocus’ sport roundups.

October 27, 2016

NextVR to Broadcast Over 20 Live NBA Games This Season, Coverage Starts Tonight

NextVR, the leader in live VR sports broadcasting, today released their full schedule for their live NBA coverage, including 25 games featuring 30 teams throughout the 2016-2017 season. Make sure to have your phone battery charged, your Gear VR lenses cleaned and ready to go tonight though, because the first VR live coverage starts tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET (local time) with San Antonio Spurs vs. Sacramento Kings.

NextVR is throwing you two free NBA games this season via a free trial of the NBA LEAGUE PASS, which includes unlimited access to both TV broadcasts and VR broadcasts until November 1, 2016 at 11:59pm ET (local time). You’ll have to insert a credit card beforehand though to activate the free trial, so make sure to cancel if you don’t want to incur a $199.99 annual fee if it’s not for you.