Intel CEO Brian Krzanich imagines a sports viewing scenario where a fan is at home watching a live game in virtual reality, and there’s a knock at the door. It’s an Uber driver with a T-shirt of the fan’s favorite team that has just been virtually caught by the viewer during a timeout in the game.
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Intel’s CES preview event last week in Las Vegas included a virtual reality presentation of the Villanova-Butler basketball game.
Photo by: WALDEN KIRSCH / INTEL CORP.
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“We’re already working on the T-shirt cannon that will come through virtual reality and deliver a T-shirt to your house,” Krzanich said. “We’ve thought about having the in-arena experience that realistic.”
Such scenarios might seem odd for Intel, known for its computer processors and servers. But Krzanich has led a pivot of the company to one focused on powering immersive experiences rather than simply developing products, with sports playing a lead role in the shift.
A year ago at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Krzanich outlined the broad strokes of this vision, highlighted by sports-related partnerships with ESPN, Red Bull Media House, New Balance and Replay Technologies.
Since then, Intel has put its dollars and attention to sports to work. Last spring, it purchased Replay Technologies, an Israeli company best known for powering 360-degree panoramic replays for several pro teams, with the deal reportedly worth more than $150 million. Its work was displayed at a variety of prominent sports events, including the 2016 MLB Home Run Derby and All-Star Game in San Diego. It’s now the underpinning of a three-year deal between Intel and Spain’s La Liga to develop and distribute the panoramic replays there.
KEY EXECUTIVES
■ Brian Krzanich, CEO, Intel
■ James Carwana, general manager, Intel Sports Group
■ Aditya Nag, director of product, Intel Sports Group
■ Preston Phillips, business development, Intel Sports Group
■ Matt Kauffman, head of events and brand experiences, Intel
■ Sankar “Jay” Jayaram, CEO and co-founder, Voke
■ David Aufhauser, chief strategy and product officer, Voke
■ Matteo Shapira, senior director of innovation and technology, immersive reality/sports, Intel
■ Wendell Brooks, president, Intel Capital
Intel followed up that by leading a $12.5 million funding round last March for California-based virtual reality outfit Voke, which has worked with several college and pro teams. Intel then bought Voke outright in November for an undisclosed price.
Voke and Replay Technologies are now key pillars of the Intel Sports Group, created last fall and led by James Carwana, previously a key assistant to Krzanich. The group also oversees Intel’s growing interests in wearables, health technology and analytics.
Intel is clearly doubling down on virtual reality, believing it has the power to radically change how fans consume sports.
“Sports and entertainment are what have driven hardware transitions in our space,” Krzanich said. “And we’re looking to take this technology all around the world, take fans to events they otherwise wouldn’t have gone to, and allow them to pick their own view, their own perspective. This is the future of sports.”
Sankar “Jay” Jayaram, Voke co-founder and CEO, describes a radical transition as the head of a small startup now serving as a focal point of a technology giant.
“We’ve basically gone from 15 people to having access to more than 100,000 people,” Jayaram said. “The gate is now wide open to us, and we have a lot of exciting things in the pipeline.”
Among the more recent efforts for Voke is a trial with the NFL to produce virtual reality highlights for four late regular-season games, a relationship it hopes to build upon.
