PARIS—Tennis fans will get to partake in the French Open in a brand new way, as one of the sports four majors will offer 360-degree live broadcasts in 4K for the first time. According to a blog from rolandgarros.com, France Télévisions and the French Tennis Federation are teaming up to provide this new broadcast feature, utilizing VideoStitch’s Orah 4i Live Spherical VR camera, as well as FireKast for its digital processing technology on the cloud.
The RG360 virtual reality app, which was created by FireKast, will allow fans to view live or replayed matches in full immersion 360-degree 4K. The app is available free on iOS, Android and Samsung Gear VR.
France Télévisions will also 360-degree replays through its francetvsport’s YouTube and Facebook pages. In addition, France Télévisions has teamed up with Stikke to offer a 3D full body scan booth, which will create digital avatars for visitors and then place them on a virtual tennis court. A Web3D platform for interactive and immersive media experience will also be offered by France Télévisions.
The French Open is currently underway and will run through June 5.
