The BBC has announced a new immersive 360-degree service for this years Rio 2016 Olympics that begins this Friday 5th August.
The BBC Sport 360 service will provide live 360-degree video footage of an event each day of the Games, with around 100 hours in total offering up to four different camera angles, there will also be a daily 360 video highlights package.
Justin Barritt, Executive Product Manager, BBC Sport, said: “The BBC delivered the first truly digital Olympics for London 2012 and we’ve continued to develop and improve our digital service ever since. Now, we’re pushing the boundaries once again to bring people closer to the action than ever before. Not everyone can make it to Rio to cheer on Team GB so we’re looking forward to giving sport fans the next best thing.”
A dedicated BBC Sport 360 trial app, is available from today on Android, iOS for use with mobile head-mounted displays (HMDs) like Google Cardboard. There’s also a version for the Samsung Gear VR.
Will Saunders, Editorial Lead, BBC Taster, said: “This is a hugely exciting next step in our 360 and virtual reality experiments. There’s huge potential for immersive video in sport coverage, as well as many other genres, and we want to explore that potential directly with audiences. That’s why we experiment out in the open, so people can tell us what works, what doesn’t and whether there’s an appetite for more. We can’t wait to hear what people think.”
The BBC isn’t the only broadcaster bringing Rio 2016 to virtual reality (VR) HMDs. NBC Olympics will be providing 85 hours of coverage through its NBC Sports app on Samsung’s Gear VR.
The BBC schedule can be seen below, and for all the latest Rio 2016 VR news keep reading VRFocus.
The full schedule of live BBC Sport 360 coverage includes (UK Time, subject to change):
Friday, August 5, 0000-0330 – Opening Ceremony
Saturday, August 6, 1400-1750, 1930-2020, 0100-0450 – Beach Volleyball
Sunday, August 7, 1400-1750, 1930-2020, 0100-0450 – Beach Volleyball
Monday, August 8, 1500-1800, 2100-0000 – Boxing
Tuesday, August 9, 1500-1800, 2100-0000 – Boxing
Wednesday, August 10, 2000-2245 – Artistic Gymnastics
Thursday, August 11, 2000-2210 – Artistic Gymnastics
Friday, August 12, 1300-1930, 2100-2350 – Fencing
Saturday, August 13, 1330-1650 & 0000-0315 – Athletics
Sunday, August 14, 0020-0230 – Athletics
Monday, August 15, 1330-1610 & 0015-0250 – Athletics
Tuesday, August 16, 1330-1640 & 0015-0250 – Athletics
Wednesday, August 17, 0200-0505 – Beach Volleyball
Thursday, August 18, 0200-0505 – Beach Volleyball
Friday, August 19, 1930-2130 – Basketball (Men’s SFs)
Saturday, August 20, 1500-1650 & 1930-2200 – Diving
Sunday, August 21, 1530-1730 & 1945-2205 – Basketball (Men’s Finals)
Monday, August 22, 0000-0330 – Closing Ceremony
