Euroleague fans in the thick of action

Article posted by Coliseum, February 2^nd, 2023

Image: EuroLeague

Euroleague Basketball and the Yerba Buena Virtual Reality (YBVR) (US) have reached an agreement that will bring select Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games into a whole new dimension that offers an immersive and social experience to fans.

‘eurohoops.net’ stated that following a strategy to deliver new levels of innovation, Euroleague Basketball already collaborated with the YBVR during the Final Fours in Cologne (Germany) and Belgrade (Serbia), allowing fans to take control of the action as though they were sitting at courtside through 180 and 360-degree cameras spread around the court.

Barcelona (Spain)-based EuroLeague, known as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague for sponsorship reasons, is a European professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognized as the top-tier league in Europe.

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The Yerba Buena Virtual Reality (YBVR) is a Silicon Valley (US) technology start-up that brings emotions closer to sports fans by building the next generation of live immersive video experiences in VR/360, unleashing the potential of immersive broadcasting by providing unparallel immersive experiences to sports fans connected from anywhere with any device: Mobile, Web, or XR devices.

Based in Silicon Valley (US), the YBVR has its research and development (R&D) center in Madrid (Spain) and commercial teams in Japan, United Kingdom and Portugal.

‘eurohoops.net’ further stated that the revolutionary production approach through VR will not just affect what the fans will watch but the ways in which they can interact while following the games, allowing them to change between cameras anytime they want with seamless interaction. Fans watching on XTADIUM will also get real-time statistical overlays that can be toggled on or off and will be able to create private watch parties to enjoy the games with friends.

Developed by YBVR, XTADIUM gets one closer to the action than ever before by delivering 180-degree virtual reality (VR) footage in up to 8K video quality.

The VR games package will be included in all EuroLeagueTV subscriptions for all the countries where the service is operational, while fans in the United States will have the chance to watch on XTADIUM, the VR App developed by YBVR that is available on the Meta Quest Store.

Stated Alex Ferrer Kristjansson, Euroleague Basketball Marketing and Communication Senior Director, “We are delighted to bring our partnership with the YBVR to a next level. Their technology is terrific, and it really enables you to feel like if you were on the court, almost touching these incredible athletes. We are constantly looking at every opportunity to elevate the experience we deliver to our fans, and technology nowadays is unlocking enormous opportunities to do that.”

Said Hector Prieto, head honcho of YBVR, “We are excited to be pioneers with Euroleague in this immersive game experience. Our long-term agreement with them is already shaping the way in which basketball fans enjoy the sport. After being part of two Final Fours in a row, commercializing Virtual Tickets, it is really rewarding for the YBVR team to bring the best European basketball to XTADIUM, where US basketball fans can enjoy EuroLeague live games on watch parties with friends.”

Selected Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games to be broadcasted on VR; and
VR games to be available to EuroLeagueTV subscribers and on XTADIUM, the virtual reality (VR) home of sports on the Meta Quest headsets.

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