Apple Could Equip a Stadium for Live Immersive Video for Vision Pro
Credit: Zoser, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Toggle Dark Mode
One of the Apple Vision Pro’s most exciting features is immersive video. However, immersive content for the device can best be described as scarce. Now, word is that Apple is working on providing more immersive material for Vision Pro users, and one of those projects reportedly involves upgrading a popular sports stadium with the technology required to live stream games in immersive video on Vision Pro.
Apple Vision Pro’s immersive video is a unique experience you can’t experience on a smartphone, tablet, or computer. The experience can be especially exciting if the technology is applied to live sports.
While immersive video promises an exciting experience for sports fans — Apple shows off immersive courtside NBA and MLB games as part of its in-store demos — very little sports content is currently available in the necessary format, and what is available is not live but generally made up of highlight reels from past games and events.
Apple reportedly has a solution to that issue, as it’s looking for ways to build advanced tech into a stadium’s ongoing upgrades. The stadium in question is not just any stadium. It’s Real Madrid’s famous Santiago Bernabéu stadium.
As reported by Marca, Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez recently provided some information on the club’s ongoing negotiations with Apple.
Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium is currently undergoing a costly transformation. Pérez recently discussed possible resolutions for the stadium regularly being sold out and season ticket holders scalping their tickets.
The solution for the problem? Live immersive video streams for the Apple Vision Pro.
Here’s Pérez’s translated quote:
Everyone wants to come to the Santiago Bernabéu, and that’s why we are negotiating with Apple to be able to wear glasses and watch the match as if you were at the stadium. It would be the Infinite Santiago Bernebéu.
As you might expect, Pérez didn’t discuss all the technical specifics of what’s being discussed with Apple. However, his comments make it clear that the new feature would involve the use of Vision Pro. Imagine watching a game in a virtual setting, free of beer spills and obnoxious attendees.
If everything works out, the Santiago Bernabéu stadium upgrade to offer immersive video could attract interest from other sports organizations, such as basketball, American football, baseball, and more.
Apple has been investing in traditional sports content to feed the beast that’s known as Apple TV+. Apple has signed contracts with Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer and had reportedly bid for the National Football League’s Sunday Ticket streaming package. While both the baseball and soccer streams are traditional video feeds, immersive video could lead to a deeper investment in sports for Apple.
Real Madrid’s renovation of Santiago Bernabéu stadium could be coming at a good time for Apple. If the company can rig the stadium with the technology to stream immersive video properly, it would likely prove to be a killer feature for many soccer fans, leading them to purchase a Vision Pro headset and subscribe to a streaming package of games from the venerable sports cathedral.
As mentioned above, if Apple pulls this off, it could lead to other sports leagues and organizations becoming interested in the technology, leading to the video capture equipment being installed in other stadiums and arenas around the globe. This could mean new income streams for sports teams and Apple while offering greater convenience for fans unable to attend an event live.
