FOX Sports and NextVR Bring Virtual Reality To Live Championship Boxing
Laguna Beach, Jan. 20, 2016 – NextVR, the leader in live-action virtual reality broadcast technology, and FOX Sports will offer the Saturday, January 23 Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) matches, airing on FOX (8:00 PM ET), live in virtual reality.
The Saturday PBC card is headlined by one of the most exciting undefeated fighters in boxing, Danny “Swift” Garcia (31-0, 18 KOs), facing former three-division world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (33-3-1, 18 KOs), live from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.
NextVR will set up multiple cameras around the ring, including ringside, to capture the action in immersive, high-definition virtual reality, providing fight fans the best seat in the house and compelling views they never had access to before. Additionally, fight commentary and graphics will be included in the virtual reality live stream.
“This is the latest example of NextVR’s commitment to bring the most compelling live content to sports fans in virtual reality,” said Brad Allen, executive chairman of NextVR. “We strive to deliver a great virtual reality experience and the key is great, exciting content.”
In 2015, NextVR collaborated with FOX Sports to broadcast the Auto Club 400 NASCAR race in Fontana, Calif., and the United States Open Golf Championship from Chambers Bay in Washington.
“We continue to explore ways to offer FOX Sports viewers the most current and immersive technology available,” said David Nathanson, Head of Business Operations for FOX Sports. “Sports fans expect FOX to be on the cutting edge with all of our broadcasts, and through the FOX Lab initiative, we will continue to experiment with new and exciting technologies with all of our partners.”
The NextVR PBC boxing broadcast will be available free through the NextVR portal. To watch the live stream of PBC boxing card in virtual reality, Samsung Gear VR owners can download the NextVR app and access the fight through any Gear VR headset compatible phones.
About NextVR: NextVR enables the transmission of live, long-form virtual reality content in broadcast quality – leading the way for live and on-demand VR to become a mainstream experience for sporting events, concerts, cinematic productions and more. Launched in 2009, NextVR has more than 26 patents granted or pending for the capture, compression, transmission, and display of virtual reality content. NextVR’s platform allows the fully immersive content to be streamed with pristine quality using current home and mobile Internet connections. NextVR was founded by veterans in stereoscopic imaging technology, software development and an award-winning filmmaker. For more information, go to www.nextvr.com.
About FOX Sports: FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing 21st Century FOX’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FOX Sports includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing partnerships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; FS1; FS2; Fox’s 22 regional sports networks, their affiliated regional web sites and FSN national programming; FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Soccer 2Go; FOX Deportes and FOX College Sports. In addition, FOX Sports also encompasses FOX Sports Digital, which includes FOXSports.com, FOX Sports GO, Whatifsports.com and Yardbarker.com. Also included in the Group are FOX’s interests in joint-venture businesses Big Ten Network and BTN 2Go, as well as licensing agreements that establish the FOX Sports Radio Network.