A trio of former BBC journalists are leading the charge of virtual reality into sport and see it as “the next frontier for storytelling”.
Ben Smith, who cut his journalism teeth at The Times, co-founded Laduma VR with fellow former BBC Sport journalist Alex Kunawicz and US-based Wayne Scholes, CEO of Red Touch Media and Mediaport, in late 2015.
CEO Smith and VP of strategy Kunawicz were joined in December by new VR producer Alex South, who has covered every major sporting event on the planet for the BBC.
Smith sees South as crucial to directing film crews while also leading the firm’s content on-screen.
So far Liverpool-based Laduma has produced 360-degree VR content for MLS franchise LA Galaxy as well as NFL giants the Jacksonville Jaguars and Denver Broncos.
Smith told BusinessCloud that it is in talks with a number of Premier League clubs.
In the video below, Smith outlines why the tech will not go the way of 3D TVs – and says the biggest companies in the world are going to throw us into VR broadcasting, whether we like it or not.