Apple Vision Pro Could Get Immersive NBA Games Next Year
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Apple looks ready to fulfill one of the biggest promises it made when it launched the Vision Pro two years ago: bringing live, immersive sports to its spatial computing headset.
By all accounts, Apple has been working to bring NBA games to the Vision Pro from the start. It hinted at this when it unveiled the headset in June 2023, where a core demo featured a better-than-courtside view of a scoring play from a Nuggets-Suns NBA basketball game.
A month later, The New York Post cited NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirming that his league was in talks with Apple about “a tech-enhanced viewing experience” for the Vision Pro.
Now, those early demos may soon become a reality. According to reports from The Verge and TechRadar, Apple plans to stream a selection of Los Angeles Lakers games in its 3D Apple Immersive Video format, starting early next year. The broadcasts would be available through the NBA and Spectrum SportsNet apps, and require the headset to be running visionOS 26.
Apple has yet to publish an official press release on its Newsroom page, but these reports appear to stem from a company statement shared directly with media outlets. Charter Communications, which owns Spectrum SportsNet, has confirmed its partnership with Apple in a press release:
Spectrum announced it will partner with Apple to facilitate and distribute a selection of live Lakers games in the 2025-26 season for Apple Vision Pro. With Apple Immersive, a remarkable storytelling format available on Vision Pro, Lakers fans will feel like they are sitting courtside for those games.
Although Spectrum seems to be taking the lead on this announcement, it doesn’t appear to be an exclusive partnership. Charter notes that game replays and highlights will also be available in Apple Immersive through the NBA App, in addition to the Spectrum SportsNet app.
Details are a bit vague right now, but TechRadar indicates that the live games will be available in either the NBA App or the Spectrum SportsNet app, although some “will be limited to the Lakers’ regional broadcast territory.”
Games streamed in Apple Immersive will also be available for on-demand playback in the United States for three days after each game ends. Folks in the UK, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the UAE will also be able to view replays through the NBA App, presumably during a similar window.
As is the case with most sports streaming, you’ll likely need to subscribe in some way to enjoy the full roster of games, but it’s possible Apple, Spectrum, and the NBA might offer some free content as a teaser. Apple is expected to announce the roster of games that will be available in Apple Immersive before the end of November, with the first games streaming in the format early next year.
According to TechRadar, Apple will be shooting the Lakers games using modified versions of Blackmagic Design’s URSA Cine Immersive Live camera, placed courtside and under each basket to give you the most immersive experience possible.
Apple has been slowly expanding its immersive coverage of live events — Metallica’s M72 World Tour was a great example of a concert experience, and VIP: Yankee Stadium added a new spin on its Friday Night Baseball coverage. However, most of the immersive videos have been relatively scripted music and sports experiences, like its 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend. These Lakers games mark the first live sports captured and broadcast in Apple Immersive Video — a milestone that just might convince some early adopters who’d given up on Apple’s pricey headset to dust it off again and get back into the game.
