Intel Sports Group CTO Sankar Jayaram said that there were "enough viewers" of six VR game telecasts during March Madness to "show that there is interest in the medium," according to Benny Evangelista of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Intel, CBS, Turner and the NCAA "teamed up to broadcast six March Madness playoff games in VR," including the three Final Four games. But only "owners of Samsung's Gear VR headset, which also requires a newer-model Samsung smartphone, could view them." For $2.99 a game, or $7.99 for all six games, viewers could "see the action" from the vantage point of courtside seats. The feed "included shots from seven cameras, each with 12 lenses, placed next to the court and in the arena." A production crew "chose shots based on the game action, although viewers could also select their own views." And for the first time, the VR broadcast "had its own three-person announcing team." Meanwhile, NextVR on Tuesday used "seven cameras, about 30 crew members, a full-scale TV production truck and three announcers" to show T'Wolves-Warriors in VR to a "relatively small -- but paying -- audience of international basketball fans." The matchup was "one of 25 NBA games to be broadcast this season in VR as part of NextVR's deal" with the NBA. But to access the telecasts, viewers needed the Samsung VR headgear and a "subscription to NBA League Pass." The NBA "declined to say how many viewers are watching the VR telecasts," which will "not include the playoffs" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/6).
