Watch the Olympic Games in virtual reality? This is a great first which will perhaps be possible next year with the winter events which will take place in South Korea. The Korean consortium Samsung at the origin of this initiative is however not at its first attempt.
The giant Samsung is an official partner of the Olympic Games and through this, the company is trying to introduce virtual reality in this event watched by millions of viewers. The goal would be to allow enthusiasts to wear a VR headset and enjoy the events of the Winter Olympics to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea from February 9 to 25, 2018.
Mobile marketing director at Samsung, Cha Young-tae said the firm had “plans to offer virtual technology so that spectators with virtual reality headsets in Seoul can enjoy sports as if they were there. »
Samsung has already experimented with this technology during a similar event, namely the last Winter Youth Olympic Games which took place from February 12 to 21, 2016 in Lillehammer (Norway). During this event, the opening ceremony was broadcast live in virtual reality for holders of Samsung phones. The consortium is now tackling an event on a much larger scale while offering to cover the events, but nothing has been finalized yet.
Cha Young-tae specifies being “in discussion with the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Broadcasting Service to use our virtual reality technology during the Games”.
If the agreement is made, it will be the first time that Olympic events will be broadcast through virtual reality. For Samsung, the broadcast of virtual sports is not new and the giant should be able to assume this pioneering role with regard to the Olympic Games. Recall that Samsung partnered with the NBA in 2016 to broadcast basketball games in virtual reality.
Sources: International Olympic Committee — Virtual Reality — UberGizmo