Fox Makes Major League Soccer Virtual

NEW YORK—Fox Sports and Major League Soccer announced that Fox Sports and virtual reality company LiveLike will broadcast Saturday’s MLS Cup through the Fox Sports VR app, marking the first time the league’s championship game has been offered in virtual reality, sponsored by Audi.

“MLS has done a tremendous job helping soccer grow in the United States and we couldn’t be more excited to be working with them on the first VR experience for the MLS Cup,” said Devin Poolman, senior vice president of Digital Platforms for Fox Sports.

Coverage for the 2016 MLS Cup kicks off on Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET on Fox. This also marks the first time since 2008 that MLS Cup will air live on an English-language network television.

During the match, viewers can choose to watch any of five camera angles with or without a headset. They can also enter a “virtual suite” with access to rosters and live stats. The presentation includes a “magic window” experience for iOS and Android, as well as fully immersive VR on both cardboard and Samsung Gear VR.

The match will also include a first-of-its-kind VR replay feature for iOS users, allowing viewers to rewind the game in 30-second increments going as far back as 30 minutes, as well as the ability to control replays from different camera angles. Access can be had via signing into the Fox Sports VR app with pay TV provider credentials.

Audi’s presenting sponsorship gives it in-suite branding, an in-suite Audi car and real time delivery of each player’s Audi Player Index score - a performance-based number, calculated by combining in-game metrics.

CATEGORIES
Latest in Sports
ESPN data on viewing of women's basketball, second highest
ESPN Platforms Scores Strong Ratings for NCAA Women’s Tournament
Root Sports app
Root Sports Launches New Seattle Mariners Streaming App
NCAA
ESPN Men’s Tournament Challenge Sets New Record with 24.4 Million Brackets
NEP's Supershooter 64 is the newest addition of NEP units designed for remote productions.
NEP Expands Fleet of New Mobile Units Designed for Remote Productions
Young people watching sports
Sponsored: NBC Airs NextGen TV Coverage of Olympics for First Time in Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos
Gray Media headquarters signage
Gray Inks Deal to Air at Least 10 Cincinnati Reds Games
Latest in News
VENICE Extension System Mini (CBK-3621XS), the latest addition to its CineAlta lineup.
Sony To Feature New VENICE Extension System Mini At 2025 NAB Show
ESPN data on viewing of women's basketball, second highest
ESPN Platforms Scores Strong Ratings for NCAA Women’s Tournament
Appear
NAB Show: Appear to Introduce VX Media Gateway
GatesAir
GatesAir to Debut ASTC 3.0 Modulator for LPTV at 2025 NAB Show
WPLG new studio
WPLG Selects Ikegami HDK-X500 Cameras For New Production Studio
TV Tech Summit with moderator George Winslow (top left), Jason Wormser, senior vice president CW Sports (top right) Scott Warren, president and general manager, CBS Bay Area (KPIX/KPIX+) (bottom right) Tim Hinson, vice president, technology ABC13 KTRK, ABC Owned Television Stations (bottom left).
TV Tech Summit: Networks, Stations Explore the Future of News and Sports Production