Meta Announces New Partnership to Broadcast NBA and WNBA Games in VR as Headset Sales Stutter
It’s difficult to truly measure the potential of Meta’s metaverse push as yet, because so much of its VR content is restricted, and limited in what exactly it can do at this stage.
Case in point – today, Meta has announced a new partnership with the NBA and WNBA, which will see more than 50 games broadcast within its VR environment, ‘including five in immersive, 180-degree VR’.
As per Meta:
“Five games will feature celebrity broadcasters and be shown in 180-degree immersive VR, and WNBA games, NBA G League games and NBA 2K League games will be available to watch as well. In Meta Horizon Worlds, you’ll also be able to access game highlights, recaps and archival content.”
Which, as an NBA fan, sounds pretty cool. I mean, most of these games won’t be in full, immersive VR, which is the real lure, in providing an experience that simulates being at the actual game, which is not possible for those outside the US.
- XTADIUM, where these games will be broadcast in VR, is only available in the US
- Meta Horizon Worlds is currently only available in the US, Canada, the UK, Iceland, Ireland, France and Spain
- To top it off, geo-restrictions mean that a lot of this content won’t be available in some regions