Wow, things are heating up in Live VR!
In a massive news announcement, Molson Canadian (the beer company) and Sportstnet (a Canadian media network) have announced they will broadcast SIX NHL hockey matches in 360/VR, over six consecutive Saturday nights, starting next Saturday February 18th, with a game between the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.
This represents the very first time an NHL match has been streamed live in VR to the general public, according to the official news release. This is a truly historic event if so.
The series of six games, over six weekends, will be captured by 3 live VR cameras, and users will access the experience through a (presumably Google Cardboard style…) VR headset, given away free in cases of Molson Canadian beer.
Users can download an app from the App Store or Google Play, and access the experience through a PIN code that comes with the beer.
Here’s the full list of games being streamed live in VR:
- Calgary Flames @ Vancouver Canucks – Saturday, Feb. 18
- Montreal Canadiens @ Toronto Maple Leafs – Saturday, Feb. 25
- Detroit Red Wings @ Edmonton Oilers – Saturday, March 4
- Calgary Flames @ Winnipeg Jets – Saturday, March 11
- Chicago Blackhawks @ Toronto Maple Leafs – Saturday, March 18
- Ottawa Senators @ Montreal Canadiens – Saturday, March 25
This is super exciting news for the live VR industry, and it makes sense to add hockey to the mix, with its smaller playing arena, much like basketball.
We’re particularly interested to nerd out and see whether they try 60fps. Perhaps they will try something crazy like this famous experiment from the 1990’s.