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NBC VR brings at-home Notre Dame, Stanford fans to the game

Fans of the University of Notre Dame football team were able to watch their team in 360-degrees thanks to a new partnership between the team and virtual reality company NextVR this past weekend.

In Saturday?s game against Stanford, Notre Dame and NextVR unveiled a live virtual reality broadcast for fans. Along with the stream itself, users were able to see exclusive VR content behind-the-scenes.

"VR has the ability to meet demands of fans like no other medium in history by transporting them to create a fan experience that makes you feel as if you are there," said Danny Keens, 

NextVR?s vice president of content. "The immersive nature of VR can be largely attributed to the narrative we incorporate into each and every broadcast. 

"Each event we cover has audiovisual functions that allow you to hear the crowd and look at the people next to you while hearing commentary from a broadcaster who feels like they are inside the VR experience with you. Additionally, we add in a scoreboard, and unique graphics. 

"All of these elements come together to create a one-of-a-kind broadcast that not only makes viewers feel as though they watching the game from a VIP premium seat, but also gives viewers the impression that they are witnessing something they have never experienced before."

360-degree football
College football teams, especially for big Divison 1 schools such as Notre Dame, are hugely popular ? and hugely profitable.

Because of that, schools around the country are pouring money and resources into making sure their football displays are just as current and technologically modern as professional football. Notre Dame is no different, which is why the university is turning to NextVR to give it a virtual reality twist.

The partnership bore its first fruit this weekend when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish faced off against the Stanford Cardinals.

Multiple NextVR 360-degree cameras surrounded the field, giving viewers the opportunity to see the field from a variety of angles while watching the game.

The broadcast was streamed through the NextVR platform, which is compatible with Samsung?s Gear VR and available through the Oculus Home app store.

In addition to the broadcast of the game itself, NextVR also released some virtual-reality-enabled highlights during the game, giving viewers another look at some of the choicest moments form a 360-degree perspective.

The broadcast was made with NextVR and Notre Dame in association with the school?s longtime broadcasting partner NBC Sports.

Additionally, NextVR is working with Notre Dame alumnus, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee and commentator Tim Brown to produce pre- and post-game VR content that will be available on-demand starting in mid-November.

The exclusive VR content will cover tailgating and other peripheral festivities and can also be streamed through the NextVR app.

Exclusivity
Virtual reality, while relatively new, has been taking the world by storm since release of multiple big-name products ? from Samsung Gear which is running this particular broadcast, to Facebook-owned Oculus, the recent release of PlayStation VR and Google?s recently announced Daydream.

Notre Dame and NextVR are not the first to tackle college football from a 360-degree perspective. Earlier this year, Fox Sports, in collaboration with a VR company called LiveLike, began broadcasting college football games in virtual reality, starting with a match between Ohio State and Oklahoma (see story).

Unlike Notre Dame and NextVR, Fox and LiveLike opted to make the broadcast available to anyone with a smartphone, rather than relying on a dedicated headset and broadcast from the Oculus Home app store. This exclusivity may be harmful to NextVR and Notre Dame?s ambitions now, but as VR becomes more ubiquitous, such problems could die down.

"The VR experience is particularly special to international sports fans who will likely never have the opportunity to physically attend these games," Mr. Keens said. "We?re giving them a chance to truly feel as though they?ve got a front-row seat to watch their favorite athletes dominate the competition.

"We are always working to bring our audiences closer to the game. With this broadcast, we wanted to experiment with an end zone style experience. There are cameras posted in the end zones and on the goal posts. 

"Our focus is getting fans closer than ever to college football."