Christian Pulisic of Borussia Dortmund (and the U.S. national team) shoots during the 2018 International Champions Cup match against Benfica on July 25, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
Copa90 will launch its own virtual reality channel through the NextVR app next month. The channel will debut with a behind-the-scenes profile of U.S. men’s national team star Christian Pulisic recorded during the International Champions Cup.
NextVR broadcasted A.C. Milan’s clash with Manchester United live in high-resolution VR on Wednesday—the English team won on penalty kicks after the two played to a 1-1 tie—and will also show FC Barcelona against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. Another eight games will be available through on-demand highlights. Copa90 is the presenting sponsor in advance of the Aug. 14 launch date for its VR channel.
Copa90 is a global soccer media company that counts Liberty Global and Turner among its investors. Its U.S. YouTube channel was known as Kick until a rebranding as Copa90 US last summer.
Pulisic’s Borussia Dortmund club is part of the ICC, and his VR footage was shot prior to a match against Manchester City at Chicago’s Solider Field. NextVR and Copa90 collaborated on a three-part feature series related to the ICC.
“NextVR’s technology is mind-blowing, and for the first time ever, fans can watch COPA90 in high resolution VR, providing them with a unparalleled viewing experience,” Copa90 CEO Tom Thirlwall said in a statement. “COPA90 wants to unite the world through soccer and this partnership and technology will only bring fans around the world closer together.”
SportTechie Takeaway
NextVR carried 27 NBA League Pass games this past season and conducted a test of an NFL game last winter, so branching into soccer is a logical next step. Partnering with Copa90 ensures broad distribution. Copa90’s World Cup coverage tallied 500 million views, the Copa90 US Twitter account has nearly a half-million followers, and the global Copa90 Facebook page has 3.2 million.
