Technology giant Intel has signed a multi-year partnership to provide virtual reality content for US college sport, commencing with the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s 2017 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, an event otherwise known as March Madness.
Intel has signed the deal with the NCAA and its broadcast rights partners Turner Sports and CBS Sports. The partnership will debut with the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, which is set to conclude on April 3, with Intel as the exclusive VR live games partner of the NCAA.
The VR experience will be available via the new NCAA March Madness Live VR app, powered by Intel in the Oculus store. For the first time, college basketball fans will be able to purchase a March Madness Live virtual reality premium ticket for a virtual courtside seat experience for March Madness games.
The NCAA utilised VR coverage for last season’s Final Four but the new service will offer fans the choice of two premium ticket options. The first being a silver option for $1.99 (€1.88) per game or a gold option for $2.99 per game or $7.99 for six games.
Intel True VR will utilise camera pods that consist of 12 cameras per pod to deliver a total of up to 48 cameras devoted to Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games and 84 cameras covering the Final Four National Semifinals and National Championship.
Intel is also using the deal to unveil the brand Intel True VR as it has fully transitioned the technology and fan experience from its acquisition of virtual reality company Voke in November. Sankar Jayaram, co-founder of Voke, will continue to lead the Intel True VR team.
Commenting on the future of the partnership beyond March Madness, David Aufhauser, managing director of strategy and product for Intel Sports Group, told the SportTechie website: “The focus right now is March Madness, and will continue to be the cornerstone of the partnership but once we get past March Madness, we’ll start thinking with them about what other experiences we’d like to create in VR for the NCAA and Turner around their championships.”