New York—Getting sports fans to slap on a virtual reality headset to watch their favorite teams battle it out on the pitch, the diamond or the gridiron for hours at a stretch will involve more than just fancy camera angles, according to a panel discussion Monday. To get viewers to make the VR commitment, content providers will have to provide a compelling social and statistical experience as well.
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“There are two really big hurdles that this is going to have to overcome,” said STRIVR head of sports training Andrew Wasserman at the Virtual Reality 20/20 conference Monday, part of NYC Television and Video Week. “One is that that 2-D broadcast is a really good experience. The second obstacle is the social [aspect] of watching sports. It’s not that common that I’m sitting alone watching a game. When you’re on a headset, you’re on your own.”
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Fox Sports senior VP of digital media Devin Poolman said initially, VR may be more of an immersive companion technology, giving viewers the opportunity to go back to watch a particular play, through a “magic window” on their phones.
“There are use cases that will get us there,” Poolman said. “It becomes a really compelling companion experience that is more like what’s been alluded to with in-car cameras, to be able to jump in and see different perspectives throughout the game. I think we’re maybe going to see this as a second screen experience that ultimately replaces the broadcast.”
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