Earlier this month, Apple TV 4K owners who are running shareware and watching sports on the Apple TV service may have noticed a new little feature called multiview. As its name suggests, this feature allows users to watch multiple games at once, which makes it especially useful for MLS Season Pass subscribers or MLB fans trying to monitor multiple games broadcast by Apple at the same time.
And while Apple’s current multi-display plans are strictly limited to Apple TV 4K boxes running in beta software, the feature could be even more interesting with its long-rumored VR headset that rumor has it will be available in June.
Watch this: How can Apple’s virtual reality headset stand out
Indulging in sports
In a recent report, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman detailed some of the ways Apple plans to position its upcoming headset for users. Among the FaceTime, gaming, and fitness apps are:
“One selling point of the headset is watching sports in an immersive way. The company already offers NFL and Major League Baseball games on Apple TV Plus, but is looking to make that experience even richer.” He also noted that Apple bought NextVR, a company that produces sporting events and concerts in virtual reality, in 2020.
Although Apple has yet to broadcast any games in VR, the MLS and MLB deals could give it scope to explore adding VR cameras to its products in the future. Apple TV Plus broadcasts of MLB games have already explored new camera angles including “ump view” that lets you watch some of the action live from the home plate umpire’s perspective.
Some leagues already offer VR games, including the NBA which has offered virtual reality live streaming for years. In January, the league announced the expansion of its partnership with Meta for VR to stream regular season games on the latter’s Horizon Worlds platform.
While most of the NBA games aired in VR this year were essentially giant virtual versions of the main TV broadcast, the league did five “immersive 180-degree monocular 2880-resolution virtual reality games” that allowed fans to virtually sit on the court to watch live basketball. on a Meta Quest headset.
The NBA in Virtual Reality on Meta Horizon Worlds.
“We like to cite the statistic that 99% of fans won’t be in a game,” Teddy Kaplan, director of new media partner management for the NBA, tells CNET, noting that when factoring in international fans and the ability to be seated on the court, the This number is closer to approximating up to 100% of fans.
“And so we were like, what would be cooler than just setting up a camera on the side of the court and stepping outside and letting you experience the seat experience in the stadium.”
“We want to give them that arena atmosphere,” says Paul Masach, associate vice president of broadcast content management for the NBA. “Part of that is building that immersive experience. Now having viewers sit in the stadium virtually is an experience that can’t really be replicated. Unless of course, you know, you’re in the game.”
Multiview could be the gateway
Multiview on YouTube TV.
The concept of multi-display is not limited to Apple. Google’s YouTube TV introduced a similar feature for March Madness and plans to include a multi-show option for its NFL Sunday Ticket package in the fall. Sony demonstrated a similar capability with its now-defunct live TV service PlayStation Vue in 2019.
But while it remains to be seen just how far Apple goes down the virtual reality rabbit hole with live game production, in the meantime it could play multiplayer.
Imagine the Apple TV app on a VR headset. Whereas MultiView on TV puts up to four games into four windows limited in size to your physical screen, with the headset, you can have up to four giant virtual screens that provide a sports bar-like experience at home or wherever you put the headset.
Since Apple is also involved in producing MLS and MLB games, it will likely go a route that combines AR stats and overlays to create an immersive experience similar to what Magic Leap and the NBA once envisioned for that company’s headset.
Apple Sports has always felt like building something more than just another piece of content for its streaming ambitions. It’s possible that with the imminent arrival of the headset and the launch of new features like multi-display, we may finally start to see that vision come into focus.