Fox Sports is placing another sizable bet on virtual reality this weekend as it again teams up with LiveLike to assemble a “virtual suite” that will provide the main broadcast of the Notre Dame at Michigan State college football matchup alongside other several other bells and whistles.

RELATED: Notre Dame-Michigan State Game to Run Social VR Play

In addition to allowing for a social experience (a visitor to the virtual suite can watch it with three other fans or friends, as Fox Sports did during the summer for the CONCACAF Gold Cup), users will also get access to a 360-degree, floating Skycam (that's a photo of the camera above) feed that, in addition to the Fox Sports VR app, will also be featured on Twitter (@CFBonFox), Fox College Football (CFBonFOX) on Facebook, and the Fox Sports YouTube channel (Fox Sports will also make the c360 footage available for use in the primary Fox game broadcast).

RELATED: VR Evolution Continues at Fox Sports (subscription required)

“It’s almost like getting a player’s perspective,” Jeb Terry, VP of partner and program management at Fox Sports (and a former NFL player), said. “It will give the fan the ability to kind of choose their own adventure and explore this angle like never before… and get a next-level type view of the action.”

Fox Sports is also evolving the social component of the VR experience on Saturday to make it more accessible. Users will also have the ability to choose from school-themed avatars.

“We think this is going to be a great representation of where this thing can go,” Terry said. “Our hope is that a Notre Dame fan in California can get in a suite with his buddy, who's a Spartan in New York, and they can watch the game together.”

Users will be able to access the digital suite on the authenticated Fox Sports VR app for iOS and Android mobile devices and experience it using the “flat” 3D (non-headset) view, or use it in tandem with an Oculus-powered Samsung Gear VR mobile headset.

Most users of the Fox Sports VR app have entered the non-headset experience so far – not surprising given that consumer adoption of those headsets is still in the early phases.

“But you can still explore the space and have a new unique angle that you might not have had before,” Terry said. “We think it's a value-add for both scenarios [headset and non-headset] and we'll continue to optimize for both use cases." 

A Wendy’s sponsorship is helping to pay the freight for the VR experience and the Skycam views that are tied to Saturday’s game.

“Sponsors, in in general are looking for more ways to associate with the game...and tap into the fandom that all college sports have,” Terry said. “It’s our goal to make sure we have that robust offering across every screen, and every tech that we believe in for brands and fans to have the option to engage with.”

Telemundo is entering the VR fold with a 360-degree video experience to promote El Chema, a spin-off of El Señor de los Cielos  that will premiere Tuesday (Dec. 10) at 10 p.m. ET.

Telemundo said The new VR experience, titled The Chema: A 360 Escape, will enable viewers to virtually accompany El Chema Venegas (Mauricio Ochmann) on a daring tunnel escape from a high-security prison.

Telemundo has also partnered with Facebook and YouTube to release the VR experience on their respective platforms. Here’s the version posted on YouTube:

To promote the its new 360-degree experience, Telemundo is kicking off a campaign to allow viewers to try the VR experience in several locations, including Los Angeles (Stonewood Mall); Houston (Plaza Americas), the Bronx (the Mall at Bay Plaza); Chicago (Gurnee Mills Mall).

Telemundo is also offering an preview of the series at Telemundo.com, on VOD and fia the Telemundo Novelas app.

 “El Chema” tells the story of how Chema Venegas (Ochmann) got his start in organized crime and rose through the ranks to become the head of the cartel he runs in “El Señor de los Cielos.”

El Chema, which tells the story of how Chema Venegas entered organized crime and rose to head the cartel he runs in El Señor de los Cielos,  is an original production of Telemundo, made by Argos Televisión, directed by Danny Gavidia and Nicolás Di Blasi,  and produced by Mariana Iskandarani and Patricia Benítez.

The Streaming Video Alliance, a  cross-industry group formed in late 2014 that counts Comcast and Liberty Global  among its members, said it has added a study group focused on virtual reality and 360-degree video.

SVA said VR and 360 video has “the potential to revolutionize the video experience,” but argued that widespread adoption will be challenged by a lack of industry standards.

RELATED:  Streaming Video Alliance Taps First Executive Director

The working group will aim to identify opportunities for developing best practices around VR, and expects to issue a report on its findings in Q2 2017.

SVA announced the new working group amid the start of its quarterly member meeting, hosted by Level 3 Communications this week in Denver.

SVA also said its Quality of Experience Working Group plans to finalize documents for distribution to the CTA, and its Open Caching Working  Group will be in member voting.

RELATED: Sky Launches VR Content Initiative

The group also announced that Adobe has joined the SVA. Other Alliance members include Arris, Cedexis, Charter Communications, Ciena, Cisco Systems, Comcast, Concurrent Computer Corp., Conviva, Encompass TV, Ericsson, Fox Networks, Hughes Satellite Systems, IneoQuest, Intel, Irdeto, Level 3 Communications, Limelight Networks, MediaMelon, MLBAM, Mobolize, Nagra, NBCU, NeuLion, Nice People at Work, Nokia, Nominum, Ownzones, Qwilt, Sky, System73, Telecom Italia, Telstra, Ustream (now part of IBM), ViaPlay, ViaSat Inc., Verimatrix, Verizon, Vubiquity, Wowza Media Systems and Yahoo.

CBS News Nov. 14 announced new TV Everywhere apps for Amazon Fire TV and Android TV, with both offering 360-degree video playback for the first time. A behind-the-scenes look at a gorillas-in-Africa segment for 60 Minutes is the first 360-degree video available.

“Our new apps for Fire TV and Android TV featuring 360-degree video capabilities mark a major step forward in terms of how viewers will experience and interact with news in the future,” said Christy Tanner, senior VP and GM of CBS News Digital, in a statement.

First launched in November 2014, the CBSN apps—also available on Apple TV, PlayStation and Xbox devices, Roku players and iOS—was responsible for 27.2 million individual streams in October, according to the network.

Read more at B&C.

Jaunt, a startup that specializes in cinematic virtual reality cameras and systems, has teamed up with AbelCine in a deal that will give its rental program a national reach.

Under the deal, AbelCine, a company that provides video gear and services to the production and broadcast communities, will offer the Jaunt ONE camera for rent. Additionally, AbelCine will provide training, workshops and other educational tools for shooting in VR, they said.

Rental pricing from AbelCine was not immediately available. However, Radiant Images, another Jaunt partner, is reportedly renting the Jaunt One starting at $4,500 per day.

RELATED: Jaunt Becomes a VR Content Distributor

“As we continue to open the Jaunt pipeline to the expanding community of VR creators, AbelCine is a perfect partner to not only get the Jaunt ONE camera in the hands of filmmakers, but also to educate them on the opportunities in VR,” said Koji Gardiner, VP of hardware engineering at Jaunt, in a statement.

AbelCine announced the deal in tandem with NAB Show NY, taking place this week at the Javits Convention Center.

Jaunt has raised more than $100 million. Its backers include The Walt Disney Company, Evolution Media Partners, China Media Capital, Highland Capital Partners, Google Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Axel Springer, ProSiebenSat. 1 SE, The Madison Square Garden Company, Peter Gotcher, the late Blake Krikorian, and Sky.

RELATED: Jaunt, Sky Tighten VR Ties

Offering a modest, edging on bullish, view of the road ahead for virtual reality, Greenlight Insights has released a forecast that predicts that total U.S. VR annual revenues will reach $38 billion in 2026.

RELATED; VR 20/20: Unknowns Abound in Virtual and Augmented Reality Market

Greenlight, in itsVirtual Reality Industry Report: Fall 2016, is also predicting that VR hardware – head-mounted displays, VR cameras, etc. – will represent 61% of total VR industry revenues by then.  

Within that grouping, the 360-degree spherical camera sector will see revenues approach $4.6 billion by 2026. Though VR cameras represent less than 1% of the market today, it will rise to 12% of VR industry revenue by 2026, the study found.

The forecast also sees VR being dominated by consumer spending on gaming until 2020. However, the $1.4 billion generated by consumer-related VR experiences will be surpassed by that time by enterprise experiences, driven by workforce training, the study noted.

“The Playstation VR launch and Microsoft’s entry are important events, but we’ve identified a number of pivotal changes that we expect will alter the trajectory of the entire VR industry,” said Clifton Dawson, CEO of Greenlight Insights, in statement. “A clear shift from tethered to standalone HMDS, a timeline for 5G across several global markets, and the viability of VR for non-entertainment will fuel the market beyond 2020.”

RELATED: Global AR/VR Revenues To Eclipse $162B in 2020: IDC

“Many observers have made predictions about the VR industry that are highly optimistic,” added said Stephen Marshall, SVP of Greenlight Insights. “In this rapidly developing industry, the most useful forecast is one that reflects the very different VR, AR, and MR modalities, as well as distinctive use cases and market drivers. This is the approach Greenlight has taken with this new forecast.”

Greenlight Insights and Road to VR released the study amid this week’s VR Strategy Conference in San Francisco.

Showtime is adding a touch of virtual reality to The Circus, the premium programmer’s documentary series following the campaign trails of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

For the doc, Showtime said it captured 360-degree video from Hillary Clinton’s policy speech in Orlando, Fla.; and Trump’s rally in Bedford, N.H., noting that this is the first time the network has offered “extended virtual reality” content for a series.

RELATED: Showtime Steps Into VR Ring

Showtime is offering the VR/360 footage via a variety of platforms, including the Showtime YouTube channel (Clinton Policy Speech 360 / Trump Campaign Rally 360), Facebook, Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Video, Hulu VR app (on Gear VR and Oculus Rift), Littlstar VR apps (mobile, Gear VR, Apple TV, Playstation VR), Zeality VR apps (mobile) and Playstation VR. The videos will be available on HTC Vive later this month, Showtime said.

Showtime produced The Circus in cooperation with Bloomberg Politics and features managing editors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann (co-authors of Game Change and Double Down, and co-hosts of With All Due Respect on Bloomberg Television) and campaign strategist Mark McKinnon.

This week’s episode of The Circus, titled “Tale of the Tape,” premieres Sunday (Oct. 16) at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime. 

Jaunt, a startup focused on cinematic virtual reality production and publishing, and Sky have forged a new cross-app VR content deal that tightens ties between the companies.

Under the agreement, Jaunt has launched a stand-alone offering, called Sky World, within the Jaunt app that will feature a selection of Sky’s news, sports and cinematic VR content. Sky World is starting off with 10 VR “experiences,” including content focused on Suicide Squad, Star Wars and former soccer great David Beckham.

RELATED: Jaunt Becomes a VR Content Distributor

Sky World is initially offered in the Jaunt VR app for a handful of platforms, including iOS, Android, Gear VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Desktop 360.

The deal also supports a VR content exchange between the two companies’ applications. Sky launched its VR app earlier this month.

Sky is also an investor in Jaunt, which has raised more than $100 million.

Time Inc.'s Sports Illustrated and Endemol Shine Beyond USA are teaming on Capturing Everest, a multi-part, multi-platform documentary series that will be offered in virtual reality/360 video formats.

The series, shot on location over a two-month period using specialized cameras rigged to zip lines and body harnesses to capture a complete ascent of Everest,  is slated to premiere in early 2017 via Time Inc.’s new LIFE VR platform and SI.com in 360-degree video, they said.  Capturing Everest will be the first VR experience from SI to be offered on the new platform alongside other fare from Time Inc. brands such as Time and The Drive.

“Attacking the world’s highest summit seemed like the perfect place to go with our new VR initiative, and by partnering with Endemol Shine and adding in the world-class storytellers from Sports Illustrated, I think we have something truly special and unique to offer our audience,” Mia Tramz, managing editor of Life VR, said in a statement. “We can’t wait to bring viewers along for this once-in-a-lifetime journey. This is exactly the type of experience LIFE VR was created for.”

The series follows a team led by Garrett Madison, a six-time Everest summiteer who has led 37 climbers to the summit of the world’s highest peak, they said.

Watch a trailer for the series in 360-degree format. 

Sky has launched a free virtual reality app for iOS and Android that features a library of 360-degree video segments that includes red carpet Star Wars coverage and clips from Disney’s The Jungle Book.

Get complete coverage of VR trends and technologies.

It’s also using the debut of Sky VR to launch Sky Sports: Closer, with David Beckham, and a performance from English National Ballet’s production of Giselle ahead of its U.K. tour that will become available later this month. The latter example is the first of a series of exclusives for the new VR platform, Sky said.

The app launch comes about seven months after Sky launched a VR content initiative and the Sky VR Studio division. Sky is also part of a group backing VR camera and production startup Jaunt.

At launch, the Sky VR app will feature about 20 different pieces of 360-degree video content from Sky, Disney, Fox Innovation Lab (The Martian Sneak Peek), Warner Brothers (Suicide Squad: Squad 360), Baobab Studios (Invasion), Jaunt (Paul McCartney: Dance Tonight), Innerspace and Surround Vision.  

The Sky VR app for smartphones works in conjunction with a Google Cardboard viewer, the Samsung Gear VR (with compatible smartphones), and the Oculus Rift. Consumers can also watch 2D version of the app’s 360-degree video without a headset.

Immersive and interactive games tend to get top billing at this stage of the virtual reality market’s evolution, but 360-degree video could be the category that unleashes VR to the masses.

Video sets a “baseline of usage” that establishes a gateway of discovery for VR consumers, offering a path to games and other immersive apps and experiences provided by the platform, Nick DiCarlo, vice president of immersive products and virtual reality at Samsung Electronics America, said.

“No matter what kind of game or other content you’re interested in, you watch video,” said DiCarlo, who will be the opening keynote speaker at NewBay Media’s Virtual Reality 20/20 event at The TimesCenter |in New York on Oct. 17.

Samsung is approaching its first full year with a commercially available VR product — the Gear VR, an Oculus-powered headset that connects to compatible smartphones and a curated ecosystem of apps and services.

“Video, we thought, was going to be really important for VR,” DiCarlo said of Samsung’s opinion as it analyzed how the market might evolve following the launch of its “Innovator” edition of Gear VR in November 2014, followed by the consumer version about a year later. “We believed in 360-degree video as a way to help VR become really mainstream.”

Inspired by the television model, Samsung’s ambition early on was to release one new VR video a day. It turns out that the company’s goals underestimated its ambitions.

“We thought that VR needed … something new every day,” DiCarlo said. “By the end of 2015, we were releasing five videos a day.”

The growing reach of specialized 360-degree cameras and stitching software keeps filling the VR pipeline. And YouTube and Facebook have fully embraced 360 video.

“The creation and release of 360 video has absolutely blown away our expectations for how rich and creative and capable of an ecosystem that was out there,” DiCarlo said.

The numbers also bear out video’s popularity: Though it’s still early days, only about 40% of the apps available for Gear VR are games.

That’s surprising, Di- Carlo said, because all of the early talk about VR content centered on games, with 360 video seen as a smaller complement. It turns out that 360 video is a “little bit bigger” than games on Gear VR.

“If you love games, you also watch video. But if you watch video you don’t necessarily love games,” DiCarlo said, noting that other categories such as social VR (AltspaceVR, for example) and VR real estate and entertainment systems from companies like Matterport will also factor heavily into the direction of the market.

Likewise, the broader VR ecosystem — from the headsets and the smartphones that power them, to the apps to the content contained in those apps — has evolved rapidly.

“All of these things need to happen all at once before you can sell one unit,” DiCarlo said. “What’s happened in the last year is nothing short of extraordinary.”

“Millions” of hours of VR video have been consumed on Gear VR, he said; the platform recently eclipsed 1 million active monthly users. “It has started to hit some big, key milestones,” DiCarlo said.

Samsung has been partially helped in hitting those numbers by a promotion which gave free Gear VR headsets to customers who pre-ordered the company’s new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones.

That promotion “exceeded our expectations,” DiCarlo said. “It took a lot of people by surprise how effective that was.”

Of course, Gear VR is far from alone in an increasingly competitive market. While PC-connected platforms such as the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive target the highest end of VR’s consumer category, the mobile sector of the market, where Samsung lives today, already contends with relatively cheap Cardboard viewers. Google’s Android- powered Daydream system is also expected to debut later this year.

DiCarlo is convinced Gear VR’s performance will give it the edge, noting that the headset-smartphone combination supports 20-milisecond “motion-to-photon latency,” referring to how quickly the display updates and changes when people move their heads.

“The best VR headsets in the world are equal to that,” he said. “There isn’t a mobile-powered headset that’s even close to that.”

He also said consumers find the device itself comfortable to wear — something that’s necessary if it’s to appeal to a mass audience.

“If you want regular people to use this product, it has to be comfortable. It’s not even an option,” he said. “That’s a critical, though often misunderstood, differentiating feature that we have yet to see matched by any mobile device in the marketplace that you can actually buy.”

The platform’s app ecosystem is also key. Gear VR’s compatible smartphones are designed to download software automatically, removing some manual processes.

At the same time, explaining these differentiators is a challenge at retail. When HDTV came on the scene, it took some seeing for would-be buyers to believe. For VR, consumers will likely want to try before they buy.

Gear VR is featured in as many as 18,000 retail stores, with 15,000 of them offering hands-on demos, DiCarlo estimated.

“Trying it and experiencing it and understanding what it really means is super-critical,” he said.

Looking ahead, DiCarlo sees bigger and better things ahead for mobile VR as consumers gain easier access to products that can create and share 360-degree content. Mobile VR will also lend itself to more advanced features such as hand- and position-tracking.

“There’s room for that in mobile, but it will just be on a different time scale,” he said.

Fox Sports said it will use LiveLike’s VR platform to deliver a live stream of the September 17 non-conference football matchup between Ohio State and Oklahoma to a digitally-rendered, 360-degree virtual suite.

Fox Sports said it will offer it on the Fox Sports VR app for iOS and Android device to 95 million authenticated homes (those that get a pay TV service from an MVPD with digital rights to Fox Sports programming).

RELATED: Putting VR in a Sporting Mood (subscription required) 

Notably, the VR experience will be available to authenticated users via an interactive, 360-degree viewing platform built specifically for mobile device, or on a mobile VR headset such as the Samsung Gear VR or Google Cardboard.

The experience centers on a “Virtual Suite” in the stadium, where users can watch the game or pick from several on-field perspectives that are closer to the on-field action. An in-stadium board will simulcast the broadcast, and users will have interactive access to additional elements such as team rosters and schedules and game stats on demand.

The Fox Sports VR app is powered by LiveLike, a startup that specializes in helping programming partners deliver sporting events in digital environments that replicate “VIP” rooms and luxury suites found at large stadiums and arenas.

Earlier this year, prior to commercial launch of LiveLike’s platform, company CEO Andre Lorenceau noted that the company was pushing ahead with several  deployments in 2016 with partners in Europe and the U.S.

He explained that the live stream delivered to LiveLike’s platform doesn’t require any special 360-degree camera equipment because it can take the traditional 2D feed (as long as it’s captured using a fisheye/wide-angle lens) and stitch it into the VR experience. Lorenceau also discussed the sponsorship and advertising opportunities the platform could support, noting that “noninvasive” ads could be overlayed into the VR environment.

UPDATE: This weekend's game offered on the VR app is not being sponsored, though future opportuniies for sponsorships are being pursued, Fox Sports confirmed,  

Fox Sports and LiveLike said they plan to team up for “multiple games” during the college football season.

“FOX Sports’ commitment to innovation makes them the perfect company for us to work with as we roll out a VR experience that allows today’s sports fan to lean-in and watch sports in an entirely new way,” Lorenceau said in a statement.

“LiveLike has a unique and compelling approach to the live-sports VR experience,” added Devin Poolman, Fox Sports SVP of digital platforms. “We are thrilled to work with them to bring this new technology to our viewers, and it is particularly meaningful that this experience requires only an iPhone or Android device, allowing us to bring VR to a larger audience than ever before.”

National Geographic and Discovery have both snagged nominations in the Virtual Reality and 360° Video category, a new award being added this year to the 6th Annual Streamy Awards (from Tubefilter and Dick Clark Productions).

Discovery VR was nominated for immersive stories on everything from shark-infested shipwrecks to freeboarding ( a snowboard-like skateboard).

Related:Discovery Gets Ahead of VR Curve

Nat Geo fare included a 360° tour of a volcano eruption.

The winners will be announced Oct. 4 at ceremonies at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. A panel of creators, execs and other online video industry notables will select the winners. Get a complete list of the nominees here.

The Streamys will be hosted by YouTube star GloZell Green.

Premium programmer Epix has launched a cross-platform, 360-degree video experience for spy thriller Berlin Station ahead of the series’ TV premiere this October.

The interactive, 360 offering is available via Web browsers at BerlinStation.com and for mobile devices such as the iPhone.

Epix is using the 360 experience to introduce viewers to the Paramount Television-produced 10-part series using extended storylines (shot alongside the main production), interactive features  and a virtual tour of the German capital. Epix shared details about this digital initiative in May, telling Multichannel News (subscription required) that it will include short videos and “hot spots” that reveal more info about the storyline and characters.

"EPIX was designed for cross platform viewing, the first premium network to launch on TV, on demand and with thousands of titles streaming online and on hundreds of devices,” said Mark Greenberg, president and CEO of EPIX, in a statement. “Now, we're tapping the latest technology to create new approaches to storytelling and deeper engagement for fans."

Epix said it teamed with three tech agencies on the development of BerlinStation.com:  Ayzenberg, which designed the digital experience and led the project development); WIREWAX, which built the in-browser interactive video experience, and Scopic, which captured the experience’s 360 video footage.

Berlin Station is billed as a “contemporary spy thriller.” It’s produced by Anonymous Content and Paramount TV, written by Olen Steinhauer and stars Richard Armitage, Richard Jenkins, Rhys Ifans and Michelle Forbes.