Virtual Reality Sports Look to Revolutionize Experience

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Volume 164, No. 158 Serving Chicago’s legal community for 163 years Virtual reality sports look to revolutionize experience

irtual reality (aka VR) deals to broadcast basketball, has not been on the soccer, wrestling and tennis sports scene for long SPORTS MARKETING PLAYBOOK events and content. Next VR but the emerging jumped into the sports strato - technology is becom - sphere when it signed a five-year Ving a must-have for sports broad - deal with Fox Sports in 2016. casting companies, and NextVR has broadcast major companies developing VR tech - sports events including the Day - nology are partnering with DOUGLAS N. M ASTERS tona 500, the U.S. Open and the leagues and broadcasters to try AND SETH A. R OSE Kentucky Derby. to make the most of the VR NextVR is the official NBA experience for sports fans. league pass VR partner for the The viewing experience of Douglas N. Masters is a partner at Loeb & Loeb LLP, where he litigates and second year in a row. Collaborat - today’s sports fans has become counsels clients primarily in intellectual property, advertising and unfair ing with NBA Digital, NextVR not just interactive, but immer - competition. He is co-chair of the firm’s intellectual property protection group and broadcast free on-demand virtu - sive. he can be reached at [email protected]. Seth A. Rose is a partner at the firm, al reality game highlights of the Still, it may be too early to tell where he counsels clients on programs and initiatives in advertising, marketing, 2018 NBA Finals. whether virtual reality will be - promotions, media, sponsorships, entertainment, branded and integrated In July, NextVR also an - come a viewing revolution — or marketing, and social media. He can be reached at [email protected]. nounced a partnership with just a cool gimmick. The compa - COPA90, a global multiplatform nies creating VR broadcasts will 2017 and launched the new part - to broadcast games and events soccer media business. The deal play a central role in determining nership by livestreaming one like the NBA All-Star weekend includes a dedicated COPA90 the future of this technology in out-of-market MLB game a week on its Intel True VR app, either channel in the NextVR app, be - the sports industry. for free during the regular live or on-demand. hind-the-scenes features with Virtual reality in sports broad - season via its Intel True VR TNT provides in-app commen - U.S. and international teams and casting requires a lot of technol - technology. tary and analysis. In college bas - broadcasts of selected matches ogy. Users need a VR headset to According to the company, the ketball, the NCAA named Intel in major events like the Interna - watch virtual reality content and live “Intel True VR Game of the its official VR partner, which will tional Champions Cup. to interact with the simulated en - Week” uses multiple 4K-resolu - give fans a unique perspective of Earlier this year, NextVR vironment. tion cameras that lets users con - March Madness this year from began featuring highlights from A string of strategically placed trol their vantage point by the comfort of their homes. selected World Wresting Enter - cameras at sports venues and selecting up to four camera an - In addition, Intel brought vir - tainment special events in virtual powerful computers that can gles per game. tual reality to this year’s Olympic reality on a new WWE channel handle a staggering amount of Viewers can watch the game Winter Games in Pyeongchang. within the NextVR app after the data produce 4K-resolution im - from behind home plate, at third As part of NBC’s Olympic cover - applicable event. It’s also been ages that create the three-di - base, or above the dugout, or age on the NBC Sports VR app, collaborating with the U.S. Ten - mensional virtual reality they can switch viewpoints. They Intel’s VR content featured more nis Association since 2016 to pro - experience of being at a live can also opt for a produced VR than 30 live or on-demand vide highlights and other content sports event. broadcast experience. The Olympic events. in virtual reality from a variety of A few companies currently broadcasts include real-time Intel is also pushing the view - events. dominate sports VR tech at the player and team statistics ing experience a step further But despite the excitement highest level, including tech throughout the game, exclusive with Intel True View, which re - around VR and its possibilities, giant Intel (which is celebrating in-app commentary, on-demand lies on more than 38 5K-resolu - providers are grappling with a 50 years in business this year), replays of each game and post- tion cameras positioned around number of significant problems and relative newcomer, NextVR, game highlights. a venue to create a 360-degree with sports broadcasts. which has become a key player in Intel is also the official tech - broadcast. The company ex - So far, the technology is strug - the VR industry since it nology provider for the NFL and plains that its battalion of cam - gling to keep up with demand launched in 2009. has installed its VR cameras in eras capture huge amounts of and image quality often isn’t up Intel is out to cover all of its selected stadiums around the volumetric data — height, width to par, critics say. VR broadcast - bases with a series of deals with country for teams including the and depth — using 3D pixels ers, particularly Intel, have taken the biggest sports leagues and Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore called “voxels.” heat for technical glitches and events to provide a unique VR Ravens, Carolina Panthers, With the 360-degree view, the images that are too pixelated. broadcasting experience for Cleveland Browns, Houston Tex - user remains in one place while Given the huge worldwide audi - viewers. It currently has deals ans, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas looking around, leading some ence for sports and its insatiable with Major League Baseball, the City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, critics to argue that it isn’t actu - appetite for content, keeping the National Football League, the New England Patriots, San ally virtual reality, which lets underlying VR technology run - National Basketball Association Francisco 49ers and Washington users move around the environ - ning smoothly clearly needs to be and the National College Athletic Redskins. ment. a top priority for the VR sports Association. As the official virtual reality Like Intel, VR broadcasting broadcasting experience to grow Intel signed a three-year deal partner of the NBA, Intel is part - startup NextVR is casting a wide and evolve. with Major League Baseball in nering with the league and TNT net in the sports world with One of the biggest complaints

Copyright © 2018 Law Bulletin Media. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Media. about VR is that it takes away more interactive, however, ac - to a virtual “suite” so they can like Facebook, which bought the the vital social component of cording to TechCrunch. Virtually chat while watching the game, VR startup Oculus in 2014, will watching sports. The need to use Live offers a VR environment TechCrunch reported. likely push tech providers to headsets makes VR viewing a that gives fans the ability to cre - Clearly, broadcasting sports in their limits to deliver the best solitary experience for sports ate their own avatars and inter - VR is a rapidly evolving work in viewing experience and content fans who are accustomed to act with each other via VoIP, or progress. But will the technology possible. watching events surrounded by Voice over Internet Protocol. be able to keep pace with the ex - As sports fans gravitate to VR other fans and to being able to Another company, LiveLike, pectations of viewers that are ac - to watch their favorite teams and discuss the action online or in designs customizable apps for customed to continual players, the next few years could person. VR content providers and innovation? be crucial in determining A number of VR startups are launched a feature that allows Competition among traditional whether or not the technology working to make the experience users to invite Facebook friends and newer sports broadcasters has true staying power.