There’s no doubt that VR technology is finding itself a home in various sectors of the entertainment content market, and while the most VR heavy entertainment right now comes in the form of games, other types of content, like streaming media and sports are starting to introduce more ways for fans to enjoy what they love. In fact, the NBA has just extended its deal with NextVR to include weekly streams of NBA games for the 2016-2017 season in VR. Only one game per week will be streamed in VR, and it will be in a 180-degree field of view as opposed to 360-degrees like for some of the other available content. There are a couple of caveats, naturally, but this is a huge step not just for the NBA and their embracing nature of the virtual reality space, but also for other content types to expand their offerings and include VR as well in the future.
What could be better than watching the game on TV? Perhaps watching the game in VR so it feels like you’re actually there. The only downside might be the fact that you’ll need a Samsung Gear VR headset to watch the games, which is only compatible with Samsung phones, so this locks out a fair amount of customers with different types of Android devices, as well as those who have sprung for the more capable VR technology like the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift.
The other caveat is that you’ll need a subscription to the NBA League Pass, and this has to be the annual subscription, which doesn’t come cheap as it will set customers back $200. Now, if you’re already a subscriber to this service or were planning on picking it up anyway, then this is probably just a bonus perk, but it might be a hard sell for those which never considered the service in the first place and don’t own any of the needed equipment. All things considered, though, this is a pretty neat feature for anyone who is a major NBA fan. If you’re on the fence, NBA Digital and NextVR will be offering the chance to stream a trial game on October 27th, which is two days after the NBA season officially starts this year. It’s also worth noting that this should do wonders for helping VR move towards a more mainstream adoption status.