Previously, the NFL’s Media Director William Deng spoke on the league’s virtual and 360-degree ambitions and apprehensions. Although the organization doesn’t think the visual resolution of headsets is high enough for live streaming and directing viewer’s attention is hard enough, Deng and company still believe in the platforms and thinks that any growth in use on their end depends greatly on how the mobile platforms develop. There have been no significant shifts since that discussion, but Fox Sports is partnering with LiveLike to bring the biggest game of the NFL season to virtual reality: The Super Bowl.
LiveLike is a company that doesn’t just thrust viewers into their favorite sporting events, they’ve developed a virtual suite that serves as the ultimate sports fan’s venue with exciting decor and various broadcasts streaming into the dwelling. While the NFL is still not quite diving into a full live-stream of a football game, they’re going to be showing off the Super Bowl’s most exciting plays in near real-time via perspectives from 6 different cameras in the football stadium. Livelike’s co-founder Miheer Walavalkar believes this will be the first of many Super Bowl games to get the VR treatment and feels the massive event is a great way to introduce millions of people to VR.
Over the course of the game, viewers in the virtual suite will be able to see the four best plays per quarter and curated highlights for both teams pre and post game, totaling out to 20 clips as detailed in the press release for the announcement. Those highlights will be easy to access and viewers have can use a navigable timeline. It’s not entirely clear if the amount of clips is a finite number they can’t exceed, but it’ll like be tough for the broadcast team to keep things that limited with explosive performances expected from both the Patriots and the Falcons in the game on February 5th.
The VR broadcast can be viewed via iOS, Android, and Gear VR via the Fox Sports VR application. In the app, you must log-in using your television provider credentials.
