Nos claims world first with VR broadcast of FC Porto vs Benfica

The Estádio do Dragão

Portuguese cable and pay TV operator Nos has teamed up with Samsung and Sport TV to broadcast a football match in virtual reality.

Viewers equipped with Samsung Gear VR virtual reality headsets were able to watch the match between FC Porto and Benfica at the Estádio do Dragão yesterday in the format.

Nos claimed a world first for the live broadcast in VR, using five cameras to enable viewers to choose different angles to watch the game, providing a 360-degree experience.

The experience was made available to viewers in the Samsung store at the Fórum Almada and at the Nos theatre in the Shopping Colombo centre.

Nos transmitted the match over fibre and a 1Gbps 4G network, using 300Mbps of dedicated capacity.

“The Portuguese League is immensely proud to associate to these partners and to this revolutionary initiative in watching a football match. The match opposing FC Porto and Benfica will surely be followed by an even greater number of viewers, to add to the thousands of fans that will be at Estádio do Dragão and to the millions that will watch it at home, on the television. Portuguese professional football and all the emotion it offers will now be taken to a never before seen level,” said Pedro Proença, the president of the Portuguese league, ahead of the match.

“We are aware that football is a passion point for the Portuguese people, which means that this initiative, the first of its kind worldwide, has all it takes to allow the users access to an experience that promises to change the way we look at live broadcasts,” said Frederico Paiva, business manager of Samsung Portugal.