Next best thing to being there: NBA season tips off in virtual reality

OAKLAND — The Golden State Warriors' fast break to the NBA championship was a breakthrough for fans of beautiful basketball.

Now, the NBA wants to give fans a virtual-reality view of the Warriors' beautiful game from courtside at Oracle Arena.

Tuesday night, when the 2015-16 NBA season tips off, it will be the first major sports league to offer a live-streamed version of a game in virtual reality. The VR rig debuts here, where the defending champion Dubs host the New Orleans Pelicans. The Warriors' ring ceremony and game will be streamed.

In addition to being able to watch the game on TNT at home, the NBA has partnered with Turner Sports and virtual-reality company NextVR to broadcast the game to users of Samsung’s Gear VR. The Gear VR is Samsung’s $99.99-$199.99 virtual-reality headset created in partnership with Oculus that works with the company’s Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy S6 and S6 edge.

NBA, Samsung put full-court press on virtual reality

Users wearing the headset for Tuesday's 10:30 p.m. ET contest will be able to watch as if they were on the floor when Golden State players receive their championship rings pregame and battle the Pelicans during the game.

"You look to the left, and see a basket. You look to the right, and see a basket. You look to the ground, and see the court," says Jeff Marsilio, vice president of global media for the NBA. "It feels like you're at the game."

While Turner Sports is helping with the broadcast, the TNT team will not be providing audio or other graphics to the virtual-reality stream. Instead, those watching the stream will hear and see the sounds of the arena as if they were in attendance.

The upside for the NBA and it's next-generation fan base could soar like an Anthony Davis dunk, sports marketing experts say. More fans worldwide will be afforded the “best seat in the house” and “feel closer to their team” through the augmented experience, says Jenni Hogan, chief strategy officer at Tagboard, a social media aggregation and curation platform.

“This is a generation that is used to being given the best access to experiences from social media, through computer games to apps that have the user a part of the story line,” Hogan says. “A live sports event is all about the experience you get when you watch it, knowing you’re sharing that exact same experience with others who are just as passionate as you. It becomes addictive.”

For years, the NBA has made a concerted push to establish itself as a global brand, with stunning success: It broadcasts games in 215 countries. But many of them will not have a chance to attend a game, league officials acknowledge. Making a VR experience available is the next best thing, Marsilio says.

The NBA has dabbled with virtual reality in the past, including viewable highlights after the three-point shootout and dunk contest from last year’s All-Star Game in New York.

On Tuesday, the Sacramento Kings announced an investment in VOKE, a virtual-reality and immersive real-time and on-demand media company.  The Kings intend to live stream their home opener Wednesday night to students at the Dhirubai Ambani International School in Mumbai, India as well as children hospitalized at the Kaiser Permanente Women and Children’s Center in Roseville, California. The view for those watching that broadcast will be courtside from the seat next to Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé.

The NBA is not, however, the first to stream a major event. Earlier this month, CNN streamed the Democratic presidential debate to the Gear VR, though the fast-paced action of the NBA should be better suited for the immersive experience offered by virtual reality.

The NBA is using Tuesday night as a test for virtual reality and is open to streaming other games. If the VR event is a hit, the league could do more, but there are no current plans. For now, both the league and Turner Sports view it as complementary rather than supplementary to the traditional HD television broadcast or physically going to games.

"This doesn't rival in-game experience," Marsilio says. "You can't smell the popcorn and feel the rumble of the fans. But it is a very cool experience."

The advertising possibilities are dizzying, says Greg Spillane, chief operating officer of Events.com.

Virtual reality viewers in China, for example, might see customized banner ads for Alibaba and Air China overlaid U.S. ads, he says. “Streaming presents different ways to market to multiple markets, based on geography,” he says.

For fans looking ahead beyond virtual reality, the NBA is also looking into 4K streaming — but don’t expect that anytime soon.

Swartz reported from Oakland, Calif.; Blumenthal from New York.

Follow Jon Swartz on Twitter @jswartz and Eli Blumenthal @eliblumenthal