VR TV App For Live Sports PPV Enters The Ring
LEVR TV has announced the launch of an app allowing fans to live stream 2D and 360° video in VR sports bars and stadiums. The debut event on October 23rd will be “The Battle in Paradise”, a PPV boxing match featuring Black Ink Crew’s Van Johnson versus Social Media Influencer Gorilla Season. In an experience LEVR dubs ‘XR Sports TV‘, viewers can create social watch parties in the metaverse with family, friends and boxing fans featuring Jumbotron TVs, multi-camera 360° video and interactive 3D models.
The boxing exhibition is taking place in the Virgin Islands and the latest organized by Celebrity Championship Boxing. CCB is the brainchild of former six-time world championship boxer Zab Judah. Judah’s created a championship exhibition league that features rival social media influencers, sports figures, entertainers, actors, and street fighters who settle disputes in the ring. Celebrity Championship Boxing fights are planned to be presented in the VRENA (short for ‘virtual arena’) on LEVR TV every 90 days.
“We’re thrilled to have even more fans able to attend our event in VR,” said Judah. “Any new and innovative technology that brings more attention to our brand and partnership with Philadelphia’s Guns Down, Gloves Up program is a huge plus. And after LEVR’s demo in Atlanta at our last event, we’re incredibly excited for boxing fans everywhere to experience it as well.”
LEVR TV’s will be shooting the immersive content on-site in the Virgin Islands, with production led by industry-defining 360° creator Hugh Hou. Pre-recorded footage in 8K resolution will be mixed in with the real-time 4K video streams and distributed over Wowza’s Streaming Cloud to fans who manage to land one of the limited-availability tickets. The debut event will only be available on Oculus Quest 2, however the company has already announced cross-device support for upcoming events on both AR and VR headsets.
‘“We’re fans first and foremost that believe sports are meant to be watched together, to bring us closer to the people we care about,” explains Nathan Grotticelli, LEVR TV Creative Director. “So we’re looking to unlock the untapped value of AR and VR as a utility to overcome real-world limitations and enable an even greater scale of memorable entertainment.”
At $19.99, a limit of 3,000 tickets will be sold. However everyone who buys a ticket receives a complimentary plus one invitation. Tickets are available for purchase here.
With their tickets, viewers enter the event just as they would in person, walking through the outside entrance of the venue, then into the virtual “forum” – a main room with a large Jumbotron of the match and other 3D users they can interact with. Walking into another room gives viewers a 360-degree surround experience where they’re as close to the action as the judges.
Viewers can toggle their avatar between three social modes:
Ghost Mode – invisible observer
Public Mode – open channel where you’re in the room with anyone at the event
Private Mode – one channel for those you invite in
Interactivity is key to a memorable VR event. With the LEVR app, 3D models bring the arena and elements within it to life. Fireworks, smoke, a bottle of wine or a cigar become a first-hand part of the viewer’s world. Users can pick up a box of popcorn, punch a 3D punching bag, and talk with others at the VR fight.
LEVR TV’s technology is also tapping into the potential of high-impact AR and VR advertising. The company is rolling-out opportunities for brands including 2D video ads that run from existing creative assets to interactive 3D models featuring promo codes, giveaways and more triggered by gaze-activated scavenger hunts.
“From publicly-available brand recall studies to the massive amount of behavior collection that’s possible with AR and VR, we’re just beginning to know this immense opportunity for marketers,” says Grotticelli. “However it’s an opportunity LEVR has to understand intimately if we’re to be an impactful advocate for data consent, control and privacy in the metaverse.”
For sponsorship opportunities, please contact LEVR TV via email at mail@levr.tv or at levr.tv/about.
About LEVR TV:
LEVR TV is building the future of live sports for the metaverse.
The LEVR TV app blends high-quality 3D venues (aka ‘VRENA’), interactive models and real-time streaming, so fans can watch live 2D and 360° video together with AR and VR compatible devices.
LEVR TV exists to champion fan access, discovery and social watching for live sports while facilitating rights-holder distribution, engagement and monetization in immersive mediums.
With recent partners including Young Money Entertainment and the LA Coliseum, LEVR TV is led by a group of seasoned production directors, experiential marketers, 3D modelers and virtual reality programmers.
