Sky has launched a free virtual reality app for iOS and Android that features a library of 360-degree video segments that includes red carpet Star Wars coverage and clips from Disney’s The Jungle Book.
Get complete coverage of VR trends and technologies.
It’s also using the debut of Sky VR to launch Sky Sports: Closer, with David Beckham, and a performance from English National Ballet’s production of Giselle ahead of its U.K. tour that will become available later this month. The latter example is the first of a series of exclusives for the new VR platform, Sky said.
The app launch comes about seven months after Sky launched a VR content initiative and the Sky VR Studio division. Sky is also part of a group backing VR camera and production startup Jaunt.
At launch, the Sky VR app will feature about 20 different pieces of 360-degree video content from Sky, Disney, Fox Innovation Lab (The Martian Sneak Peek), Warner Brothers (Suicide Squad: Squad 360), Baobab Studios (Invasion), Jaunt (Paul McCartney: Dance Tonight), Innerspace and Surround Vision.
The Sky VR app for smartphones works in conjunction with a Google Cardboard viewer, the Samsung Gear VR (with compatible smartphones), and the Oculus Rift. Consumers can also watch 2D version of the app’s 360-degree video without a headset.
