The Sacramento Kings franchise, already known for its continued involvement in technology, has recently made its latest tech-focused announcement to the NBA world. On the eve of their opening night game against the Los Angeles Clippers tonight, they announced an investment in VOKE, a leading virtual reality innovator. VOKE will be introduced immediately to the Kings operations, with a virtual reality live stream of the Kings’ game versus the Clippers to students in Mumbai, India and children in Roseville, California.
This technology announcement is one of several that the Kings have made over the last two years. Last year, the Kings became the first NBA team to accept Bitcoin as a method of payment for apparel, tickets, and concessions. Another technology initiative made by the Kings last year was the adoption of Google Glass to stream games. The decision to stream games via Google Glass appears to have similar reasoning behind the decision to invest in VOKE; to offer an insider experience for fans that cannot come to games.
For VOKE, this is a great opportunity to get a foothold in the NBA and professional sports industry. VOKE was formerly known as 3D-4U and began by promoting their technology through college football and concert entertainment.
VOKE recently partnered with Ricky Martin to allow fans to watch his concert in 3D and virtual reality. Another VOKE partnership was with Washington State University and engaging fans with virtual reality technology to offer a new viewer experience at games.
According to Kings owner and chairman Vivek Ranadivé, the technology will allow the team to share the in-game experience with its global fan base. The Kings have played preseason games in China, have traveled to India, and will play a regular season game in Mexico this season. As noted in the Kings’ release, Fans will be able to watch the game in virtual reality from several vantage points in the stadium, including right next to Ranadivé’s personal courtside seats. Ranadivé aims to immerse the team into emerging social media and technology trends in order to connect with audiences and fans in a more unique way.
The future upside of the Kings’ investment into VOKE will be the use of the virtual reality technology to sell tickets and seats in the current arena and at their future arena that is currently under construction. New potential customers hoping to buy seats in the new arena can take virtual reality tours of the clubs, lounges, and sections for future season tickets. This adds benefit to the marketing and sales teams for the franchise.
The NBA has been supportive of virtual reality live streaming and will work with multiple companies to help promote the globalization of the league through this technology.