Virtual reality headset owners slowly get more access to different kinds of sports broadcasts. Star India, the company who owns the right to the Indian Premier League cricket matches, is exploring VR as we speak. Their current plan is to broadcast live games in VR through the Hotstar video streaming service later this year. With different camera angles to choose from, these cricket games will become a lot more engaging for fans of the sport.
Star India Prepares to Embrace Virtual Reality
It is evident a lot of sports can benefit from broadcasting in virtual reality. Filming cricket games will require a major upfront investment in terms of hardware and personnel.This is especially true if you plan to broadcast live games. Star India has big plans to bring local cricket games to VR users later this year. All of the games will be streamed live through the Hotstar service. It is a major development for the sport and the VR industry both.
Cricket is an incredibly popular sport in India right now. The fans are very passionate about watching live games, either in the stadium or at home. Bringing this type of content to VR headset owners in India will certainly be rather interesting. Fans will gain access to different camera angles and commentary languages. Moreover, there are also cricket-related emojis to enhance the experience even further. It is not the first time Star India streams sports in virtual reality either.
Star India Managing Director Sanjay Gupta comments:
“The VIVO IPL 2018 will be a 6-month-long fiesta with new-age technology putting fans at the heart of the experience. We are confident that the VIVO IPL 2018, as re-imagined by Star India, will empower viewers, advertisers and the media & entertainment eco system of India with greater convenience and viewing pleasure, audience deliveries and all-round growth.”
Covering the IPL in virtual reality will undoubtedly increase the viewership over time. Right now, there is a total of 700 million users who can access these games throughout TV and Digital. It is unclear if VR users need to authenticate with a cable subscription login before they can access the content in the future. We do know Star India paid $2.55bn to own the IPL media rights until 2022. A very steep amount, which only further shows how popular cricket is in India right now.
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