LiveLike, a virtual reality viewing company, have just secured a major deal with the ATP World Tour. They are setting up a broadcasting lounge at the BNP Paribas Open, a tennis tournament in Indian Wells, Calif. This will be the first big test for the burgeoning company, and a possible way for the promising company to burst onto the virtual reality scene.
With LiveLike, viewers are placed in a virtual box seat. So, after strapping on a virtual reality headset, the court is in front of you—just as if you were sitting in the stadium.
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There is a space in the virtual box suite for statistics on players, in addition to a backroom that has replays of the match. There’s also a live 2D television feed on what looks like a jumbotron in the stadium. Users can switch camera angles too and leave this box suite, immersing themselves with a sideline view or any other viewpoint that can possibly be broadcast.
One of the more innovative features of LiveLike is the manner with which it is also a social experience. You can sit in this virtual suite with friends and actually talk to them in real time—even though they could be hundreds of miles away.
Watch @JohnIsner test future technology in our @BNPPARIBASOPEN VR demo. #ATP @LiveLikeVR https://t.co/7heENsQApK pic.twitter.com/wCAejjbnuw
— TennisTV (@TennisTV) March 16, 2016
Essentially, LiveLike is the ultimate platform for virtual reality viewing, and anything can be added to it. For this reporter, it is an ingenious idea that is sure to catch on at some point and become the way that virtual reality sports are viewed.
It might be a bit too ahead of its time, but virtual reality is also gaining widespread popularity at an ever-increasing rate, thanks to cheap headsets like Google Cardboard.
Last month, the NFL, ever looking to innovate their sport’s relationship with the fans, worked with Tech Crunch to establish the 1st and Future startup competition, held at the Stanford Business School. One of the big winners, who took home a $50,000 cash prize along with meetings with NFL executives, was virtual reality experience company LiveLike.
LiveLike won the category of Bringing Home the Game, one of three categories in this contest including The Future Stadium and Tomorrow’s Athlete.