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What does Apple want from a VR events company?
Since 2009 a startup called NextVR has been developing proprietary cameras and striking deals to bring live events -- think sporting events, wrestling matches and concerts -- straight to the VR headset of your choice. The writing was on the virtual wall -- until Apple swooped in with a check.
Apple buys virtual reality company NextVR
In one of its more interesting acquisitions in recent memory, Apple has purchased NextVR. The company confirmed the deal to CNBC. The two had worked together to produce and broadcast basketball games and highlights in virtual reality.
Apple appears to to be acquiring virtual event company NextVR
Apple's augmented reality plans may have received a quiet but important boost.The 9to5Mac team claims that Apple is the midst of acquiring virtual event broadcasting company NextVR in a deal worth about $100 million. While the deal hasn't closed, an Apple shell company is reportedly hiring "most" of NextVR's engineers and asking them to relocate to Cupertino.
Steam now supports NextVR's virtual reality broadcasts
NextVR has finally arrived on Steam, giving more people access to its virtual reality sports and entertainment broadcasts. The program offers NBA, NHL and ICC soccer games, as well as WWE matches, concerts and stand-up comedy shows, which are a lot more interactive than the typical versions streamed online or shown on TV. It gives people a way to watch the events from various points of view -- from the courtside, on the ice, in the ring or from the front row -- and immerse themselves in its original experiences using a virtual reality headset.
NBA League Pass transforms games into VR viewing parties
Live sports broadcasts in VR tend to be solitary affairs, but they're about to become decidedly more social. Now that the 2018-2019 NBA season is getting underway, NBA League Pass and NextVR have revealed that they're offering shared viewing through Oculus Venues. If there's a friend across the country who can't show up to watch a game in person, they can don a VR headset and enjoy that sense of camaraderie. You'll even unlock a team jersey for your avatar if you tune in, so you can rep your favorite squad whenever you like.
Follow the NBA Finals in high-resolution VR
NextVR has been partnering with the NBA to livesream games for the last two years, and now it's going to cover the upcoming Finals. After each game, the service will upload free-to-watch highlights in a new high-resolution format to its dedicated NextVR app, which works with most virtual reality headsets.
Stephanie McMahon is bringing the WWE to new audiences
Stephanie McMahon was born into the WWE franchise, and she's built a successful career inside and outside the ring. Today, her job involves spreading the word about professional wrestling and bringing WWE to as many people as possible, wherever and whenever they want to catch a match. This means interacting with fans on social media and putting WWE on new platforms, like Facebook Live and VR.
Watch WWE highlights from ringside with NextVR’s wrestling channel
The fine, well-oiled folks of World Wrestling Entertainment are bringing some of the franchise's most exciting moments to virtual reality with a new channel on the NextVR app. The WWE channel will host 10-minute experiences, uploaded for free after each participating event, that put fans in the center of the action, as if they attended the match live. NextVR is available on Samsung's Gear VR, Google's Daydream View, Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality and Sony's PlayStation VR headsets.
NextVR lets you peek around players while watching VR sports
Watching concerts and sports in VR is great up until someone blocks the camera's view. Unlike in real life, you can't really poke your head around... or can you? NextVR wants to make that happen -- it's introducing six-degrees-of-freedom movement to on-demand VR videos. If a player or ref is getting in the way of a sweet play, you can just lean over to see what you're missing. The feature is coming sometime in 2018, and there are promises of 6DOF movement for live videos sometime after that.
NBA will broadcast every game in VR this season
While other broadcasters and sports leagues dabble in virtual reality, the NBA is taking the plunge. It raced ahead of the competition last year by streaming weekly live games in VR. Now, it's making its entire season immersive for League Pass subscribers. With the NextVR app, you'll not only be able to watch 27 live games on your Samsung Gear VR or Google Daydream headset, but you'll also get access to something called the Screening Room. Here you'll be able to pick and choose from every League Pass game in virtual reality. On top of that, the feature will let you select up to 13 NBA games to livestream on a massive virtual screen. And soon, you won't even be restricted to a Samsung, Google, or ASUS phone -- as long as you're willing to invest in a Windows Mixed Reality headset, that is. Yes, Microsoft's VR platform (which is coincidentally arriving just in time for the new NBA season) will support NextVR.
The NBA hopes VR will expand its audience
This year's NBA All-Star Weekend wasn't just about the iconic Slam Dunk Contest or the riveting game between the best players from the Eastern and Western conferences. Yes, these were certainly the main attractions for attendees and viewers at home, but the event was also an opportunity for the NBA to showcase the ways in which technology will play a role in the future of the game. That future includes wearables, eSports and virtual reality, a medium whose immersive format the league says will help it reach wider audiences.
Stream live NBA games in VR à la carte starting February 23rd
The NBA announced its plan to stream weekly games live in VR last fall and soon there will be a much cheaper à la carte option. Starting February 23rd, basketball fans will be able to watch matchups live in virtual reality without having to pay for an NBA League Pass subscription. Each game will set you back $7 and they'll still be available though the League Pass app. Before now, you had to pay for the $200 TV subscription if you wanted to stream live basketball games in virtual reality. NextVR does say that this is the "introductory price" for the rest of the current season, so the rate may not be permanent.
Live NBA is coming to Google's Daydream VR platform
NextVR has expanded its NBA virtual reality coverage, now offering it on more than one headset and in countries other than the US. Along with the current Samsung Gear VR offering, you can now catch broadcasts on Google's Daydream platform. In addition, viewers in Canada, the UK, Germany and Australia will be able to catch on-demand games and highlights, though live broadcasts are limited to the US.
NBA will livestream weekly games in VR this season
As far as professional sports leagues go, the NBA may be the most tech-forward of the bunch. Last year, it teamed up with NextVR to stream the first game of its 2015-2016 season in virtual reality. Today, both parties are taking that partnership one step further. NBA Digital and NextVR have announced that, starting this season (which tips off October 25th), they will be livestreaming one game per week to Gear VR headsets. It is the first deal of its kind, according to NextVR, something that bodes well for virtual reality as an entertainment medium.
Fox starts the Bundesliga season with a soccer VR broadcast
Fox Sports and NextVR are at it again. The two have paired up for live sports broadcasts in VR before and now they're bringing those immersive views to the pitch in Munich. This weekend marks the beginning of the Bundesliga soccer season in Germany, so what better way to celebrate the kickoff than with a virtual reality live stream. Friday's matchup between defending league champions Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen will be available in VR for owners of Samsung's Gear VR headset. What's more, this is the first time Bundesliga action has been available in virtual reality.
This weekend's Kentucky Derby will be broadcast in VR
Television networks have already broadcast boxing, basketball and other sports live in VR. Heck, we've even stepped inside a soccer game. Virtual reality is becoming a regular part of live sports coverage, and that includes horse racing. NextVR and NBC are teaming up to stream his weekend's Kentucky Derby in VR for the first time. In fact, the duo says that this will be the first virtual reality broadcast for the sport of horse racing as a whole.
Time's 'Life VR' will 'showcase the world through virtual reality'
NextVR just announced its virtual reality broadcasting tech will bring live concerts home in a partnership with Live Nation, and today it's announcing a team-up with Time Inc. Life Magazine has historically provided a peek into different areas of the world via photojournalism, and the new Life VR project will offer "immersive, next-level storytelling" from Time Inc. media properties like Time Magazine, People, Sports Illustrated and Entertainment Weekly. Word of the launch came at today's NewFronts event in NYC, and the two say it should result in three to five VR events each year, available in the NextVR app.
NextVR and Live Nation team up to stream 'hundreds' of concerts
NextVR has already brought many important firsts when it comes to live VR broadcasting, so after golf, NASCAR, political debates and basketball, it's targeting live music. The company is teaming up with concert promoter Live Nation to stream "hundreds" of performances in virtual reality to fans worldwide. To increase the you-are-there feeling that makes VR broadcasts unique, it's planning "optimized" 3D audio to go along with the views from the front row, on-stage and backstage.
Fox Sports will stream the Big East hoops tournament in VR
Between the news that March Madness Live will be available on more devices than ever this year and TuneIn partnering with the NBA to host live game audio, it's been a pretty interesting week for hoops fans already. But Fox Sports isn't content to sit on the bench while others boost their draft prospects, announcing it'll be broadcasting the last seven games of this year's Big East Men's Basketball Tournament in virtual reality.
Daytona 500 will be broadcast in VR
Fancy seeing the Daytona 500 from the perspective of the pit crew? Now you can, thanks to a new five-year deal signed between Fox Sports and NextVR. The pair are planning to broadcast a series of major sporting events in VR, with the deal kicking off at this year's edition of the great American race. If you own a GearVR headset and a compatible phone, you'll be able to watch the race from the stands, starting line, middle of the infield and the aforementioned pit lane. In addition, the VR stream will have dedicated audio commentary and pop-up graphics telling you who's in pole position.
