The NBA Digital arm of North American basketball league the NBA has extended and expanded its agreement with virtual reality company NextVR.
The two parties first joined forces in October 2016 and NextVR will continue as the official live VR partner of the NBA during the 2019-20 season.
Tipping off on October 26 with the New Orleans Pelicans versus the Houston Rockets, NextVR will feature a top game each week throughout the regular season, available to subscribers to the NBA League Pass streaming service within the NextVR app.
The partnership will expand to feature weekly immersive, stereoscopic 3D game broadcasts, full game replays, highlights and other on-demand content. In addition, all League Pass games will include 2D streaming with NextVR Screening Room, a VR environment in the NextVR app with games appearing on a theatre-sized screen.
For the second consecutive season, the two parties will distribute NBA League Pass VR within Oculus Venues’ social viewing experience in the US. This allows fans to connect with friends and share the experience with others live in real time.
David Cole, NextVR co-founder and chief executive, said: “This season comes on the heels of our recent launch on Oculus Quest. By capitalising on new VR headsets with next-generation optics and highly-optimised architecture, we’ll be able to deliver higher-fidelity NBA VR than ever before.”
NextVR live games will be available as part of a League Pass subscription or through a stand-alone VR or single game package.
