(Courtesy of Manchester City/LiveLike)
Earlier this May, Manchester City partnered with Sky Sports and LiveLike to provide fans an opportunity to watch the first English Premier League match live in virtual reality. On Friday, the soccer club and LiveLike announced a further dive into virtual reality with the launch of the CityVR App.
“Our trial with live VR last season was eye-opening, with fans reacting in awe of the immersive nature of the experience,” Diego Gigliani, Senior Vice President of Media and Innovation at City Football Group, said in a statement. “With the launch of CityVR on the Oculus platform, we’re now able to let millions of fans around the world experience that same content also.”
Within the CityVR Oculus app, which operates with a Samsung Gear VR headset, fans can view highlights via a VIP suite from some of Manchester City’s 2015-16 home games and also watch from the different corners of the pitch. Additionally, Manchester City fans who download the app will gain access to player information and statistics to complement the experience.
“Working with Manchester City has been great for us and our collaboration last season really allowed us to showcase our live streaming capabilities to the broadcast community,” Miheer Walavalkar, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of LiveLike, said in a statement. “With their help, we’ve now been able to create a tailored VR experience for their fans.”
LiveLike, a virtual reality company that delivers live sports programming to rights holders and teams, has been one of the companies at the forefront of integrating immersive virtual reality experiences into sports. Three weeks ago, it partnered with FOX Sports to broadcast Oklahoma and Ohio State football, the first live college football broadcast in virtual reality. An estimated 37,000 watched the game in virtual reality, with viewers averaging 12 minutes apiece.
FOX Sports and LiveLike will also collaborate once again with a VR broadcast for the Red River Showdown between Oklahoma and Texas live from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas on Oct. 8, the two companies confirmed.
