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CBS News is releasing new apps for Android devices and Amazon Fire TV that will include 360-degree videos, according to a company press release.
Viewers will be able to control their range of view through their remote, or by swiping with their finger during a 60 Minutes behind the scenes look at a journey to find gorillas in Africa. The 360-degree video will be available on the company’s CBSN 24/7 digital video news channel.
Legacy companies are increasingly turning to immersive formats to enhance their story-telling abilities. ABC News launched a VR experience late last year, which outlined a tour of Syria’s capital. And more recently, the New York Times debuted its own standalone 360-degree offering (The Daily 360), which brings viewers a new 360 video every day. In particular, 360-degree video can benefit CBS in the following ways:
- Continue its digital growth. CBSN set a new quarterly viewership record in Q3 2016 with more than 60 million streams, and a new monthly viewership record this past October with over 27 million streams, according to the press release. While the majority of this viewership can be attributed to election coverage, 360-degree video gives consumers a reason to continue viewing content on the platform.
- Appeal to a younger audience. CBS is one of the oldest skewing broadcast networks in the US, with a median age of 59 years old. However, its digital channel CBSN attracts a younger demographic, with an average age of 38. Supporting emerging technology like 360-degree video could pull in more of those crucial younger demographics in the future.
- Enhance its connected TV offerings. TV viewing on connected devices among adults aged 18-49 was up nearly 60% in August 2016 vs a year ago, according to Nielsen. Offering additional, innovative content on these devices could be a way for CBS to offset linear declines.
The tech industry has promoted the prospect of VR for the past few decades. But only now, with headsets backed by big names like Sony and Facebook, is VR finally becoming a concrete product with mass market potential. While VR technology is largely associated with the gaming industry, the platform offers a new set of content opportunities in entertainment, advertising, and more.
But where is it all going?
BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on virtual reality content that examines how various VR headset categories will shape VR content development and looks at the trajectory for mobile gaming revenues to get a sense of how spending on VR content might develop. The report also lays out what types of content users and developers can expect on VR platforms, including gaming, video entertainment, and advertising.
Here are some key takeaways from the report:
- VR headset manufacturers are driving both the development and distribution of VR content by investing significant technical and monetary resources in developers, in an effort to build up an exclusive content library.
- High demand for VR headsets by mobile and console gamers will fuel demand for VR content. The VR content market will take an increasing portion of the mobile gaming software industry.
- Beyond gaming, VR video entertainment will remain short form until demand for VR headsets increases.
- Ads featured on VR headsets will likely have higher view-through rates than standard video ad spots.
- Other industries are also beginning to experiment with VR content. Travel companies, publishers, e-commerce merchants, and social platforms are beginning to see potential in this new category.
- VR content faces major hurdles that could keep developers from investing: The VR experience must be good enough for people to take up the devices. In addition, developers need to know that a sufficient user base exists to be worthy of the resource investment in VR content.
In full, the report:
- Provides a breakdown of each type of VR headset, what platforms they run on, and how content will differ for each.
- Includes estimates for global VR headset shipments by category.
- Includes a mobile gaming forecast to give a sense of the most important market that will drive spending on VR content in the next five years.
- Lays out what other industries are developing VR programs.
- Discusses some of the potential barriers that could dissuade developers from investing in VR content.
To get your copy of this invaluable guide to the VR universe, choose one of these options:
- Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the world of VR.