Voke is latest to join NFL's VR highlights package
Virtual reality startup recently acquired by Intel gets its shot at showing highlights of four NFL games this season. Is the Super Bowl next?
Voke will work in tandem with Emmy award-winning NFL Films to capture in-game and postgame highlights packages from all four games. Fans will be able to watch the games for free in the NFL channel in Voke's app.
Voke's NFL partnership comes exactly a month after it was acquired by chip giant Intel and after rival VR company NextVR showed postgame highlights of three games earlier season.
"Competition is always good," Voke co-founder Sankar Jayaram said as he was en route to Sunday's game in Jacksonville. "Competition means there are different approaches as the NFL is testing with multiple players to capture the right camera angles, storylines and evaluate and how this works out in their future."
William Deng, the NFL's director of media strategy and business development, believes this partnership with Voke gives the league another chance to tinker with VR.
"Virtual reality has the potential to bring a unique perspective to our fans to complement the different ways they currently enjoy the game today," Deng said in a statement. "We look forward to working with Voke as we continue to experiment and create new experiences in this emerging medium."
The Silicon Valley-based Voke has captured its share of big-time sporting moments this year. Using its TrueVR platform, Voke teamed up with Turner Sports and Occulus to provide a courtside view of the 2016 NCAA men's basketball Final Four and national championship game through Samsung Gear VR and provided highlights on Facebook's 360. Remember Villanova's thrilling buzzer-beating upset win over North Carolina?
The VR experience requires strapping on a headset that tunes viewers out the rest of the world, drawing them into the action.
Last season, NextVR captured footage at three NFL games and had a well-attended booth at the NFL Experience fan fest in San Francisco during Super Bowl 50 festivities. At the booth, fans got a glimpse of gridiron action in virtual reality.
With Voke entering the NFL VR picture also showing NFL highlights, my speculation intensifies that Super Bowl 51 on February 5 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, home of the Texans, will be shown in virtual reality.
Stay tuned...