Fox Sports, LiveLike Put Transactional VR On Sponsorship Menu

In another first coverage from the tournament organized by CONCACAF representing nations in the North Central American and Caribbean regions will include a social networking element with Facebook enabling four people to communicate about their virtual viewing experiencesThe enhanced watching is accessible through a mobilespecific interactive 360degree viewing experience built specifically for smartphones or with Samsung Gear VR or cardboard headsets amp160Fans enter the amp8220virtual suiteamp8221 by downloading and installing the free Foxamp160Sportsamp160VR app and signing in with their MVPD provider credentialsUsers can watch the enhanced Gold Cup matches amp160one of the semifinals on either July 22 or 23 and the championship contest on July 26 which will also be captured in VR by choosing from multiple highresolution camera positionsamp160or screening the directoramp8217s cut that automatically selects the angles amp160They can also view replays in the format amp160The tournament which kicked off July 7 will unfold in 14 US stadiumsamp160with the action on Fox Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 2 and FXX amp160Univision holds the Spanishlanguage rightsamp160Fox Sports Senior Vice President of Field and Technical Operations Michael Davies said the Buffalo Wild Wings deal marks the first time the programmer has steered a VR sponsorship deal outside of the auto categoryamp160and represents its deepest integration within the virtual environment to date amp160Past VR sponsorship plays with Toyota the 2016 Daytona 500 Lexus 2016 US Open golf championship and Jeep 2017 Big East basketball tournament largely centered on logos and back plate signage within the virtual environments amp160Audiamp8217s sponsorship of the partnersamp8217 VR coverage of the 2016 MLS Cup was more elaborateIn addition to branding LiveLike parked a digitally rendered Audi on the virtual set and also drove the amp8220Audi Player Index Scoreamp8221 which calculated playersamp8217 performances tied to various inmatch metrics amp160amp8220It helped because Audi is a sponsor of MLSamp8221 said DaviesWhile Buffalo Wild Wingsamp8217 identification will be prevalent around the suiteamp160a virtual plate of wings may prove to be the tastiest part of the pact amp160In watching a demo for the Gold Cup Davies noticed the faux platter and it whetted his appetite amp160From there LiveLike worked on bringing the icon to life upon clicking on the plate users will be taken to an ordering website amp160He said this activation enhances the restaurantamp8217s sponsorship experience beyond the association with the content amp160If this transactional element is successful LiveLike may work on developing a system that could bring the ordering process within the virtual suiteWorking with CONCACAF Foxamp160Sports is also producing a trio of sponsorable 360degree features amp160Davies said they could focus on team arrivals peaks inside the locker rooms or preparation on amp8220match day minus oneamp8221 the day before the encountersFox which also works with NextVR through a fiveyear partnership has offered VR takes of other big events including Super Bowl LI the 2016 Bundesliga season over college football including the 2016 Big Ten championship and a PBC heavyweight title fight over the last 18 months Still Davies reminds that the medium is in relatively early days with Fox viewing VR as more of a companion to rather than a substitute for its linear telecastsWhile commercials can be inserted into the livestreams Davies believes marketers can explore various opportunities amp160Autos for instance would be wellserved to provide users with a virtual view of what itamp8217s like to drive one of their latest models and the ordering system could be adapted to schedule an actual test drive with a nearby dealer amp160Davies is also of the mind that flashier imagery perhaps an icon being dropped or moving around the suite would engender comments on social media and likely draw more attention to the nascent platformSuch discussions or perhaps conversations about whether users prefer traditional or boneless wings mango habanero or parmesan garlic seasoning could presumably take place among participants in the fledgling social virtual reality setting that launches July 8Inside the Foxamp160Sports VR app users will find a amp8220socialamp8221 tab and a amp8220join friendsamp8221 button that connects them to Facebook upon authorization amp160Those who have acted similarly can recognize each other39s avatars and communicate throughout the experience amp160LiveLike has integrated software supplying a conference calltype functionality that will let participants talk through their headset with Gear VR or smartphones amp160Users could join their Facebook friends supporters of the US or Mexican sides or random entrantsThe social aspect plays into how many prefer to consume sports with family or friends either new or old think sports bar acquaintancesamp160 That amp8220tribal connectionamp8221 should grow over time as more users gain social system admittance amp160The capability could encourage significantlyamp160more people to engage in VR whose growth has been hamstrung to some degree because the current immersive experience is isolating with users attached to headsets and gogglesWith amp8220dwell timeamp8221 in the VR app already increasing Davies said Fox over the course of the three Gold Cup matches will assess whether users are spending more time with the platform given the social elementDavies believes the integration of the social component into the virtual environment could be amp8220an inflection pointamp8221 for the industryClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Fox Sports, LiveLike Put Transactional VR On Sponsorship Menu

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