Assess The Relationship Between Technology And Sports

The relationship between technology and sports is a long and intertwined relationship. Raymond Williams author of Culture and Society describes the relationship of media and technology as “technical advances and a particular set of social conditions together produce the need for broadcasting and the technology required for its realization.” (1) In essence as the demand for sports increases so does the need for technological innovation. With the advances of video production a new medium has emerged known as virtual reality. Virtual reality technology can be described as “the combination of contradictory aspects: The virtual world and the reality world mutually into a whole organic form.”(2) The first public use of virtual reality technology

Subscriber fees can operate similar to TV were the platforms such as IM360, NextVR or Voke pay the teams and leagues for the rights to air games or the teams may build their own platforms and hold their own virtual reality rights. The second source is sponsorship opportunity that may be even more beneficial than it is for broadcast. Greg Spillane COO of Events.com described the advertisement possibilities as “dizzying” with endless opportunity. (11) With virtual reality sponsors can direct advertise to viewers based on their location. In addition they can create virtual advertisements that aren’t visible on TV or in the arena. Such how on Tuesday NextVR will have Tuner Sports logos visible to fans who turn 180 degrees away from the court of

Virtual reality offers sports organization the ability to train and review film like never before. Jed York CEO of the San Francisco 49ers describes the technological benefits of virtual reality for plays as “with the ability to understand our bodies in a way we’ve never been able to before, players will be more efficient and their careers will be extended, it will also make it possible for organizations to put players in the best position to succeed, which will only further elevate the quality of the players.” This concept is backed up by the way David Shaw and the Stanford football team is using virtual reality. The Cardinals have partnered with Derek Belch CEO of STRIVR to produce virtual film for the football program. The program originally started with Kevin Hogan reviewing opponents ‘most popular defensives formations and understanding how he would react when she sees them in a live game. The program has been so successful that David Shaw has incorporated it for the whole team and uses it as a recruiting pitch. (13) The difference between virtual reality and normal film is that virtual reality is filmed from the player’s perspective and eye sight and moves with them, while normal film is usually a bird’s eye view that is stagnate. David Shaw believes the benefits of virtual reality are a “game changer.” The virtual reality program allows the cardinals to get extra