Fox Sports announced Wednesday that it has inked a five-year agreement with NextVR that will find a growing slate of the network’s sporting events broadcast in virtual reality.
The first event in the multi-year partnership will be the Daytona 500, airing Feb. 21, with additional programs to be announced later this year. By watching the event in virtual reality, which offers a 360-degree view of a location, viewers will get to experience the race with a level of realism that doesn’t exist in a traditional TV format. In 2015, Fox and NextVR gave the concept a test-ride by broadcasting boxing, racing and golf in virtual reality.
In order to view the free live Daytona 500 race in virtual reality, users will have to download the NextVR app to their Android smartphone for viewing through a Samsung Gear VR headset.
The partnership is significant in that it marks another milestone for the coming VR push, which is expected to gather momentum this year with the appearance of high-end VR devices from Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Sony Morpheus. Google has energized its VR efforts of late by making Clay Bavor head of that division at the company, while Facebook got a jump start on the field with its purchase of Oculus Rift. And while Apple has never acknowledged publicly that it is working on VR tech, it has made acquisitions such as FaceShift that indicate it is playing around in the space.
By 2020, virtual and augmented reality will represent a $120 billion business, according to industry advisors Digi-Capital.
“It’s all about delivering something new and exciting for our viewers,” said Eric Shanks, Fox Sports president, COO and executive producer. “Virtual reality is the next great frontier in immersive experiences for fans across a wide variety of sports. It’s a rapidly changing technology, and this deal with NextVR positions us to be on the front lines for years to come.”
To read more visit USA Today where this article was originally published
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
