Can't get tickets to the NBA tip-off game between the Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans?
You can still feel like you're right there in the "Roar-acle" in Oakland, California, thanks to a virtual-reality app.
The NBA and Turner Sports have announced plans to live stream Tuesday's opening game, making it the country's first professional sporting event to be streamed online.
Fans can buy special gear – namely, a pair of Samsung Gear VR goggles costing between $100 and $200 – and download the Oculus Home app to stream the game through the Next VR portal.
The broadcast, which begins at 7:30 p.m. PST on TNT, allows fans to watch the game courtside, thanks to a professional broadcast camera situated in the middle of the court.
"Kinda crazy, huh?" said Warriors spokeswoman Lisa Goodwin.
For now, the experiment is limited to the Warriors-Pelicans game, according to Goodwin and an NBA spokesman, who asked not to be named per company policy.
U.S. & World
Neither would talk specifics about cost, or what financial opportunities might be lost or gained by allowing fans to watch the game with goggles. But both said the experiment is in its exploratory stage, and officials are simply testing the new technology.
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The NBA spokesman painted a grand view of the technology, explaining how it could allow a fan in China to zoom in on Oakland's Oracle arena and watch a game from overseas.
As for the Warriors, they're not worried about losing real fans to virtual reality.
“We want more fans to watch the game, and it won’t affect ticket sales," Goodwin said. "We’ve been sold out for 135 games.”
