TNT Sports and Cosm have partnered to deliver live sports to Cosm’s ‘shared reality’ immersive venues when they open, in a first-of-its-kind broadcast agreement. Visitors can sit, drink and dine while surrounded by XR content. It is viewed as a whole new way to watch sport.
Cosm is creating a compelling in-person entertainment concept with physical event venues featuring 87-foot (27 metre) LED domes where content bridges the virtual and physical worlds. The first two venues will be opened in Los Angeles and Dallas in 2024 and Cosm says they will make guests feel like they are sitting front row, courtside, or rink-side at live events taking place across the world.
Immersive 8K+ sports coverage starts in 2024. The NBA (professional sports league) has already announced a partnership with Cosm to bring select NBA League Pass games into the ‘shared reality’ venues. Now TNT Sports and Cosm are claiming a world-first for a multi-year broadcast partnership that will see Cosm produce and present select live sports programming from across the TNT Sports roster.
“This is the first time a broadcast rightsholder will present live sports content in ‘shared reality’,” the companies confirm.
“This partnership is transformative, not just for Cosm but for the live sports and entertainment industry at large,” says Jeb Terry, CEO and President at Cosm. “We are thrilled to team with TNT Sports to bring award-winning live coverage to fans in a new way — by giving them the best seats in the house, every time.”
Cosm venues will host select NBA on TNT regular season and playoff games, along with TNT Sports’ exclusive coverage of the NBA’s Eastern or Western Conference finals each year. TNT’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and select U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Soccer Team matches will also appear in shared reality at the venues.
Terry adds: “Cosm enables the best of at-home and in-venue, delivering the ultimate fan experience. It is a privilege to work with great partners like TNT Sports who also share an innovative spirit and commitment to the fan experience.”
Raphael Poplock, SVP of Acquisitions, Business Development and Partnerships at TNT Sports, says: “We have always been at the leading edge of creating experiences, centred on innovation, that elevate how sports fans engage with our premium content. Partnering with Cosm advances that mission, offering a level of immersion within our NBA, NHL and U.S Soccer action like never before. We look forward to bringing the possibilities of shared reality within sports to life next year.”
TNT Sports is part of Warner Bros. Discovery. As part of this new partnership, Cosm and Warner Bros. Discovery will explore other opportunities to feature select pieces of non-scripted entertainment content. More details will follow on that front.
Comment
This is a brilliant innovation – a massive night out in the making! It creates a whole new experience level in a tiering structure that starts with being at the real game, and currently moves to very occasional stadium shared screen watching, pop-up town square/public venue tournament viewings on big screens, pub/club shared viewing, potential cinema screenings, and then home viewing (social or solo), and solo mobile viewing.
The visuals released to illustrate what a Cosm venue feels like suggest this will become the next best thing to being at a match (at least for regular week-by-week sports, outside of major tournaments). It will surely ensure premium revenues on a per-person basis for rights holders that provide the thrills of sport. This type of venue is an exciting new endpoint for content rights holders in an already diversified distribution landscape.
