With the increasing threat of COVID-19, many sporting and music events have been either postponed or canceled due to the importance placed on social distancing. However, in the wake of the cessation of live events, technological advancements have paved the way for consumers to enjoy these functions from the comfort of their own couch. Facebook has recently signed a multiyear deal with the National Basketball Association, making Oculus the official partner of the NBA, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the NBA G League. Oculus Venues, an initiative set up by Facebook, brings live music events, comedy shows, and sporting events right to your door, allowing you to sit in front row seats at your favorite events.
Although this feature has been around for several years already, the impact of COVID-19 has created forced fans to enjoy their favorite live events from their homes by either streaming the event or joining in using virtual or augmented reality. Seeing this need for a change in the way live events are consumed these days, Oculus Venues has improved its already present system by allowing fans to change their camera angles, as well as interact with fans also using the platform. This is a level of interaction that had not been widely-implemented until recently, with the effects of COVID-19, such as social distancing and self-isolation becoming a more stark reality.
This technology is setting a precedent. Many other sports, such as football, tennis, and American football are all exploring the possibilities of introducing virtual reality as an alternative means to consume this form of media. As both software and hardware reduce in price and become more accessible to the public, this technology will only improve and make its way to more events. Imagine going to a virtual cinema with your friends: you rent a film online, all put on your VR headsets, and are transported to a virtual movie theater where you’re not limited by the seating arrangements, snack selection, or the coronavirus restrictions.
The topic of virtual reality brings up an interesting aspect: the level of engagement. Despite technologies improving drastically, will the level of engagement change between fans and sports teams and artists? Will basketball and football players be less excited to score without a crowd cheering them on? Although the fans are a big part of the game, when it comes to sports teams, the level of engagement is quite low, to begin with, especially in large sporting arenas. However, many musical artists tend to engage quite often and quite intensely with their fans. And although their fans will be watching up close and personal using a VR headset, the artists may not be able to reciprocate the feeling. Although we have seen the power of Travis Scott during the Fortnite Astronomical Event, one cannot help but wonder: will this impact the performance of musical artists and athletes? What do you think? Leave a comment down below!
References
Gupta, V., 2020. Op-Ed: The ‘Experience Economy’ Is Dead Driving A Boom In Virtual Reality. [online] CNBC. Available at: <https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/27/op-ed-death-of-the-experience-economy-gives-rise-to-virtual-reality.html> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
Lee, D., 2020. A Peek Into The VR Art Live Community | MOR. [online] Museumor.com. Available at: <https://www.museumor.com/blog/peek-into-vr-art-live-community> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
Rogers, S., 2020. Will 2020 Be The Year The Music Industry Fully Adopts Immersive Tech?. [online] Forbes. Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/solrogers/2020/01/24/will-2020-be-the-year-the-music-industry-fully-adopts-immersive-tech/#16228d193658> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
Dear Morad,
I find the topic of oculus venues really interesting and I am happy to see that someone touched upon this topic. The question for me is regarding the feasibility and the acceptance by the society. The problem with virtual reality events is that even though on your VR glasses it might feel like you are next to all of your friends, you still can not touch them or have the feeling that you are physically next to them. For instance, when attending a football match, a lot of fans like to be around a crowd that they can cheer with. If I attend a hip-hop concerts I want to jump into the moshpits and go crazy with the whole crowd. For an artist or athlete, the physical distance also matters. The relationship between artist/athlete and fan will be rather distant and the feeling that make sport events and music events unique will not be provided. Therefore, I do not believe that oculus venues will ever be able to replace live events. However, they will be able to serve a larger crowd of people and can acts as a complementary device for people that cannot afford to attend the event or live in a different area. It will be for sure interesting to see what is coming up in the coming years in terms of virtual reality events.
Dear Morad,
Thank you for this very interesting article! I believe that Oculus Venues jumped upon a real opportunity. Even if it is online, the interaction it provides is impressive. A lot of people could actually benefit from these services; for example people lacking financial ressources. Thanks to this they would still be able to enjoy the show. This makes me think of an initiative carried out by Amazon consisting in offering touristic activities virtually with a fee. These experience are one to one in order for the “tourist” to completely immerse him or herself in the experience. It is quite interesting to see how every industry adapted itself to the pandemic in such a quick way. Let’s see how this evolves!
Hi Morad!
Interesting article, it is going to be interesting to see further updates and advancements in this field. With Covid-19 not showing signs of disappearing in 2020 options like these seem more and more interesting to keep up both with nearby friends and longer-distance friends!
I’m curious to see to what extent this is going to be further developed, to what extent can be transport our social environment into a digital space? Do you think things like digital malls/cinemas and other leisure activities will have space as well in this industry?
It is interesting to think about the impact of virtual environment on the performances of artists and athletes. I think overall it might benefit some and work against others, but overall elements of human presence might be introduced to the environment of the artist/athlete, so that they have a choice, helping those that prefer no presence while still giving a feasible environment to the ones that need an audience to properly perform.