NextVR will team up with music-venue operator Live Nation to broadcast hundreds of live concerts around the world in 360-degree virtual reality, the companies announced.
The first concerts will be announced shortly and take place this summer, NextVR said. A schedule of live events will be announced later this year and each year during the multiyear partnership.
To view the events in VR, consumers must download the free NextVR app for the Samsung Gear VR, available in the Oculus Home app store. Additional viewing platforms will be available soon, the company said.
NextVR, launched in 2009, has more than 23 patents granted or pending for the capture, compression, transmission and display of VR content. The company claimed to be the only company capable of transmitting live high-definition VR content over the Internet.
See also: THX Expands Certification Programs To Live Concerts
NextVR has already streamed multiple live events in 360-degree high-definition video, including this year’s 2016 Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinal, semifinal and championship games at Madison Square Garden in conjunction with Fox Sports. The two also brought the Daytona 500 and a Premier Boxing Champions fight this year to virtual reality, and in 2015, they tested a VR broadcast of the U.S. Open from Chambers Bay.
Also last year, NextVR delivered VR broadcasts of a Democratic presidential debate and the NBA’s season-opening game.
