NBA Announces Plans to Broadcast Games in Virtual Reality

The NBA is taking a step toward bringing fans further into the action by broadcasting at least one game per week in virtual reality, the league announced Thursday (via Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk).

Working with NextVR, the NBA will be the first major professional sports league to broadcast regular-season games in virtual reality.

Viewers interested in watching contests in this fashion will need a subscription to NBA League Pass and a Samsung VR headset, per Helin.

While fans will have to pay for League Pass to watch games in virtual reality throughout the year, the Oct. 27 matchup between the Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs will be broadcast in VR during a free trial period.

NBA vice president of global media distribution Jeff Marsilio explained why this is a big step for the league and its viewers, per Sam Amick of USA Today:

"

We’ve got fans all over the world. We broadcast our games in over 210 countries now, and these are passionate fans. But for most of them, they’re not able — for logistical reasons — to attend a game in person, let alone sit courtside.

So we do feel that VR provides the potential, if we do it right, to be the next best thing to that in-person experience. But in order to get there, we’ve got work to do. That’s why we felt that it was time to make a commitment.

"

Amick also noted the VR broadcasts will feature different camera angles along with exclusive commentators, replays and graphics.

In October 2015, the NBA and Turner Sports teamed up with NextVR to broadcast the Golden State Warriors' season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans in VR. Now, a continuous schedule of virtual-reality broadcasts should help the league grow and could become the benchmark for how fans watch their favorite teams play.