Have you ever wanted to see what your favorite player sees on the field? Do you ever wish to be taken into their world for a bit of time to feel the adrenaline they feel while competing? Believe it or not, this alternative reality you desire to live in for a brief moment does exist…for horse racing fans. U.K. betting firm William Hill and technology production company, Unit9 have been working to perfect a prototype in the virtual reality world. Utilizing real-time data through GPS tracking systems on horses, fans are now able to saddle up and experience the race from a jockey’s point of view.
The truth of it all is, as consumers and fans the ways that we all consume sports and entertainment is going through a digital revolution. Despite massive enhancements and innovations on major professional arenas and stadiums, there will always be one limiting ingredient – not everyone who wants to watch an event can watch it live. Whether it be stadium sells outs, ticket price, or cost of travel, teams need to identify an innovative way to capitalize on revenue generation from the market of people who are not in the seats.
Here lies virtual reality, an opportunity to congregate people by the masses on a global scale. A broadcaster’s, team’s, league’s content generating dream, allowing a multitude of fan engagement operations and revenue streams. Providing infinite seats, experiences and memories to sell, no longer will an individual or family need to cross state or international lines to experience what it is like to not only be at The Belmont Stakes of the Triple Crown, but to ride the horse he/she is cheering for.
While virtual reality and technology alike are strong, monetized catalysts, that provoke fan engagement, an additional key component to the success of the virtual reality is its social interaction that allow fans, friends and family to consume sport how they want to, where they want to and when they want to. At the end of the day, it is evident that for avid horse race followers, getting on the horse is the next best thing to watching it, but what will be exciting to see is the spillover effect that these virtual reality systems will have in additional stadiums and arenas around the world.