Sky ventures into VR with new content studio

Pay-TV broadcasting giant Sky is taking the next step in virtual reality after being a long-term investor of VR startup Jaunt.

The company announced yesterday that it was taking a more direct approach to VR content delivery with the launch of a dedicated production unit called Sky VR Studio.

Gary Davey, managing director of content at Sky, said, "Sky VR Studio allows us to add a new dimension to storytelling, taking viewers to extraordinary places and offering a unique perspective on a whole host of events, telecomstechnews.com reported.

The development of VR technology is moving at an incredible pace and excitement is building about its potential.''

The new studio would start off focusing on sporting content, but would move towards general entertainment and news in the coming years. Although Sky planned on launching its own VR delivery platform it planned to use third-party platforms such as Facebook 360, Oculus, and YouTube 360 to begin with.

''Our expertise across a wide range of video content, from original drama to live sport, gives us a unique ability to bring VR to life for customers. This is just the start and we're looking forward to creating more amazing VR content and exploring the possibilities with our tech and content partners,'' according to Davey.

The Sky VR Studio had lined up two VR experiences shot during the recent Formula 1 testing in Barcelona, Spain. To start with, Ski would make the two VR experiences available for consumers to watch on the Facebook 360 Video platform and the Oculus platform.

Users would also be able to view the content using both the Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift headsets.

The company would also launch a dedicated Sky VR app, aimed at reaching the maximum number of people.

Davey added, "The Sky VR Studio allows us to add a new dimension to storytelling, taking viewers to extraordinary places and offering a unique perspective on a whole host of events, cbronline.com reported.

"The development of VR technology is moving at an incredible pace and excitement is building about its potential. Our expertise across a wide range of video content, from original drama to live sport, gives us a unique ability to bring VR to life for customers."