NEW YORK — The Final Four last year featured live game coverage in virtual reality for the first time, and according to Turner president David Levy, games in VR will be back this year.
“There will be virtual reality again,” Levy said Tuesday. “We’re not announcing it today, but we are definitely going to be involved in virtual reality. We believe in it in a big, big way. Where I thought 3D honestly from the get-go was going to have challenges, I don’t feel the same way at all about virtual reality. I think that’s here to stay, here to grow, and I think it lets people get a front row seat and actually feel the action, which is going to be very unique.”
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The NCAA March Madness Live VR app provided the 180-degree virtual reality live stream of Final Four games via Samsung Gear VR last year. NCAA March Madness Live, which is managed by Turner Sports, provided live game coverage of the national championship game along with both national semifinal contests in collaboration with VOKE. The experience featured game commentary, sounds from the arena, a virtual scoreboard and live stats.
The availability of VR coverage was announced four days before the national semifinals last year. Asked if he expected an expanded offering of more than the Final Four games in VR going forward, Levy said yes.
“The data that we have shows that people who did watch it enjoyed it,” Levy explained. “It’s just a small sample size right now relative to the size of the tournament, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t invest. We have to keep investing and keep innovating, and I think we do a really good job of that in this organization.”
Levy is high on the potential of live virtual reality.
“From a fan perspective and from a sports perspective, if I can sit at a Knick game with my friend who lives in Seattle and my other friend who lives in Dallas and I can sit together through the Internet and sit in the front row with them and virtually watch the game together, I think that’s going to be very compelling,” Levy said.