Fox Sports, NextVR Sign Multi-Year Deal

LAGUNA BEACH, CALIF.—After previously teaming up on virtual reality coverage of Premier Boxing Champions matches in January, Fox Sports and NextVR are announcing a new five-year deal to continue to develop and provide live virtual reality coverage of sporting events.

The two companies have testing virtual reality programming across multiple sports for more than a year, according to NextVR Executive Chairman Brad Allen. Including the boxing matches, Fox Sports previously worked with NextVR for virtual reality broadcasts of the 2015 Auto Club 400 NASCAR race and the 2015 U.S. Open Golf Championship. Future virtual reality programming on Fox Sports will be available on the NextVR portal, which will have a dedicated Fox Sports section.

One of those future broadcasts will include the 2016 Daytona 500. Virtual reality coverage of the race will provide HD virtual reality coverage of the starting line, infield and pit row. The live virtual stream will also include audio commentary and graphics on the race leaders. The 2016 Daytona 500 takes place Sunday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m.

Samsung Gear VR owners can access the NextVR portal by downloading the NextVR app on any Gear VR headset compatible phone.