MLS Cup To Hit Network TV for First Time Since 2008, Will Also Get VR Treatment by Fox Sports

MLS Cup (7:30 p.m. ET, Fox) is ready to make some history this weekend. For the first time since 2008, an MLS champion will be crowned on network television, and — in another first — a live MLS match will be presented in virtual reality.

This is the second straight weekend Fox Sports has rolled out a major live virtual-reality production with the folks at LiveLike, following last Saturday’s live VR stream of the Big Ten Championship Game.

According to Michael Davies, SVP, field operations, Fox Sports, viewers will be offered five unique camera angles to choose from. Company strategy lately has been to go with what it calls the “magic window” experience, re-creating an atmosphere of a luxury suite where the user can access other content elements in the suite while the live game is available in a prominent window at the center of the experience.

The VR presentation of the Big Ten Championship Game can be viewed via the Fox Sports VR App, which is available for download in most mobile-app stores. Most smartphone users are able to check out the experience.

“Fox Sports has been a great partner for us as we gear up for our third live VR broadcast together,” says Andre Lorenceau, co-founder/CEO, LiveLike. “Their broadcast expertise combined with our VR capabilities have allowed us create one-of-a-kind, tailored VR experiences that have delighted today’s sports fan. We are making huge headway into bringing VR into more and more households.”

The MLS Cup VR presentation will have many features that the network debuted last week at the Big Ten Championship, including the ability to rewind the game in 30-second increments (for iOS users only), the ability to control replays from different camera angles, live-stats integration, and a suite of highlights allowing easy access to on-demand content. Users will also have the ability to select their own camera angles, picking where they “sit” throughout the game.