The Huffington Post is looking to move into more virtual reality (VR) based coverage and experiences. That is what has been revealed following the purchase of VR studio RYOT by the Post’s parent company AOL. The latest in a series of moves from content creators to move for a foothold in VR or consolidate their position (a topic we’ll be covering in a future VR Vs piece).
RYOT, who have previously teamed up with a number of other press (New York Times, Associated Press) and VR (Littlstar, Jaunt) industry heavy hitters for documentary or factual experiences, are a good match for the Huffington Post’s output. A press release from AOL (which is in turn owned by Verizon) expanded on what it sees as common ground between the two, citing a shared “editorial voice and content philosophy” that will dramatically change “both how The Huffington Post captures the stories and how consumers engage with the content”. VentureBeat reports that RYOT’s website is already redirecting to huffingtonpost.com and even exists as a subdomain.
Commenting on the acquisition of his company, RYOT’s Co-Founder Bryn Mooser added “The Huffington Post blazed the trail by empowering people to tell their own stories in their own voices. RYOT is born out of that same mission. Together, we’ll bring our immersive virtual reality storytelling to their global news network and we couldn’t be more excited. It’s a game changer.”
We’ll be following up on this story in the future. Be sure to join VRFocus tomorrow for more new stories and features including coverage from EVE Fanfest in Iceland.
