ITV to showcase Grand National in virtual reality

Commercial broadcaster ITV has teamed up with virtual reality outfit VR City and media agency Goodstuff to show highlights from the Grand National horse race in VR.

The moves follows ITV’s recent VR coverage of the Cheltenham Festival, which the broadcaster said generated close to two million views over the four days of the ev VR coverage of The Randox Health Grand National, taking place on 8^th April at Aintree, marks the first time that ITV has screened the event.ent.

VR coverage of the Grand National, which takes place on Saturday at Aintree, marks the first time that ITV has screened the event. Created by VR City, footage will be captured on the day of the race, immediately stitched together and edited on site, into a one-off 360 highlights recap, made available online from the Sunday morning following the race.

The footage, made available at the end of the festival via ITV’s YouTube and Facebook accounts, is designed to allow viewers to immerse themselves in the most exciting moments on and off the course, according to ITV.

UK horse racing returns to ITV for the first time in 32 years this year, thanks to a new four-year deal to show the sport on terrestrial television. The deal encompasses live broadcasts of almost 100 days of racing each year, including 42 days on the main channel.

Ed Ross, head of marketing and media at ITV said: “One of the aims of ITV Racing’s on-air coverage is to give viewers ‘the best seat in the house’, and this exciting VR highlights package will immerse consumers in the unique live event atmosphere The Randox Health Grand National creates. We’re delighted to be working with VR City and Goodstuff once again to bring this experience to Racing fans.”