FOX Sports in Virtual Reality Partnership

LAGUNA BEACH: FOX Sports is set to start offering live virtual-reality coverage of select sporting events in the U.S., entering into a five-year partnership with NextVR.

Last month, FOX Sports and NextVR gave the virtual reality treatment to Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) matches. Next up will be DAYTONA 500. The technology promises to “bring fans to the starting line, the middle of the infield and with team racing crews as they change tires on pit row.” The virtual reality programming from FOX Sports will be available on the NextVR portal.

Eric Shanks, FOX Sports’s president, COO and executive producer, noted, “It’s all about delivering something new and exciting for our viewers. Virtual reality is the next great frontier in immersive experiences for fans across a wide variety of sports. It’s a rapidly changing technology, and this deal with NextVR positions us to be on the front lines for years to come.”

“We have worked with FOX Sports for over a year to test live, virtual-reality programming across several sports,” said Brad Allen, executive chairman of NextVR. “This wide-ranging agreement is proof that our technology provides an exciting and compelling option to witness great sporting events in virtual reality.”