TNT Sports, Cosm to Bring ‘Shared Reality’ Experience to Live Sports Broadcasts

Cosm
(Image credit: Cosm)

LOS ANGELES and ATLANTA—TNT Sports  has signed a deal with Cosm, a provider of immersive technology that will see Cosm produce and present select live premium sports programming from across TNT Sports' footprint in immersive 8K+ at its forthcoming venues in Dallas and Los Angeles starting in 2024.

The multi-year agreement will include TNT Sports’ live coverage of the NBA, NHL and U.S. professional soccer through "Shared Reality" on Cosm’s 87-foot diameter LED domes. Earlier this year, during the 2023 NBA All-Star in Salt Lake City, the NBA was the first professional sports league to partner with Cosm, bringing select NBA League Pass games into "Shared Reality" at Cosm's forthcoming venues.

The agreement marks the first time a broadcast rightsholder will present live sports content in Cosm venues, which will host a number of premium events throughout the TNT Sports calendar, including select NBA on TNT regular season and playoff games (along with TNT's exclusive coverage of the NBA's Eastern or Western Conference Finals each year), TNT's coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and select U.S. Men's and Women's National Soccer Team matches. 

(Read: Immersive Sound – Front, Forward, Above and Beyond)

"This partnership is transformative, not just for Cosm but for the live sports and entertainment industry at large," said Jeb Terry, CEO and President at Cosm. "We are thrilled to team with TNT Sports to bring award-winning live coverage of the NBA, NHL, and U.S. National Soccer Teams to fans in a new way — by giving them the best seats in the house, every time. Cosm enables the best of at-home and in-venue, delivering the ultimate fan experience. It is a privilege to work with great partners like TNT Sports who also share an innovative spirit and commitment to the fan experience."

"We have always been at the leading edge of creating experiences, centered on innovation, that truly elevate how sports fans are able to engage with our premium content in exciting ways," said Raphael Poplock, SVP of Acquisitions, Business Development and Partnerships at TNT Sports. "Partnering with Cosm further advances that mission, offering a level of immersion within our thrilling NBA, NHL and U.S Soccer action like never before. We look forward to collaborating and bringing the possibilities of shared reality within sports to life next year." 

As part of this new partnership, Cosm and Warner Bros. Discovery will also explore other opportunities to feature select pieces of non-scripted entertainment content in the future. Additional details will be announced at a later date. 

Cosm's first two public venues, set to open in 2024 in Los Angeles at Hollywood Park and Dallas at Grandscape, will deliver state-of-the-art visuals and merge the energy of the crowd with elevated food and beverage service to make guests feel like they are sitting front row, courtside, or rink-side at live events taking place across the world, the company said. 

Tom Butts

Tom has covered the broadcast technology market for the past 25 years, including three years handling member communications for the National Association of Broadcasters followed by a year as editor of Video Technology News and DTV Business executive newsletters for Phillips Publishing. In 1999 he launched digitalbroadcasting.com for internet B2B portal Verticalnet. He is also a charter member of the CTA's Academy of Digital TV Pioneers. Since 2001, he has been editor-in-chief of TV Tech (www.tvtech.com), the leading source of news and information on broadcast and related media technology and is a frequent contributor and moderator to the brand’s Tech Leadership events.