FOX gets ready for virtual reality broadcasts at Daytona 500


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Michelle Clancy

| 18 February 2016




FOX Sports will broadcast the Daytona 500 this Sunday on TV in HD, and for the first time in virtual reality (VR).



The channel is teaming with virtual reality production company NextVR in a deal to produce and broadcast live sports. The partnership will begin with this Sunday’s Daytona 500, which will be free of charge on the NextVR portal.

“It’s important for us to be at the forefront of how sports fans are consuming content well into the future. I think virtual reality represents that,” said David Nathanson, head of business operations for FOX Sports. “We believe what NextVR is doing in live sports is best in class.”

“This is a watershed moment, or tipping point in the world of virtual reality,” added Brad Allen, executive chairman at NextVR. “FOX Sports is a major player and this partnership with them is a milestone in VR and providing these live experiences is unlike anything before. We’re very excited.”

FOX Sports has worked with NextVR to produce a number of live sporting events over the past year, some of which were available to the public and others just tests for FOX officials. These competitions include the US Open Golf Championship last June, a NASCAR race in Fontana, California, last March, and the Premier Boxing Champions.