NFL and Google carry VR a few yards up the playing field

NFL – the American Football league – has buddied up with Google to work on a series of VR episodes specifically designed for its VR headset Daydream.

According to the NFL, the series will deliver an immersive experience for users. That’s kind of the point of VR, really, but the series will ostensibly allow users to experience what it’s like to train with the Philadelphia Eagles defensive line in the build up to the big match day.

Additional episodes will look at the culture of American Football in other parts of the country, like Green Bay, or specifically the internal organisational workings of the San Diego Chargers. We can already see the most viewed episode being the one the NFL describes as letting viewers “tag along with the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders” …

“This series will give fans an opportunity to connect with the NFL like never before, whether they are on YouTube or using Google’s virtual reality headset, Daydream View,” said Amit Singh, Vice President, Google VR.  “We’re thrilled to work with the NFL to capture the series with Jump and bring it to YouTube and Daydream.”

NFL’s adoption of VR on such a serious scale is a big win for the technology as a whole, despite its exclusivity to Google Daydream. In the past, questions have been asked about the feasibility of the technology and its success largely depends on the adoption of VR as a viable commercial medium from a majority of markets.

That is exactly what’s happening with the NFL’s adoption, and it isn’t a purely esoteric play only appealing to the USA. American Football has a rapidly growing appeal outside of North America, with London’s Wembley Stadium playing host to a number of competitive NFL fixtures every season, with every game a sell-out. Google has snared a bit of a win with that in mind.