Cosm
2024 was a coming-out year for Cosm. In July, the shared reality venue company raised more than $250 million in a funding round, valuing Cosm at more than $1 billion. Its growing partnership list includes the NBA, NFL, WWE and UFC as well as industry heavyweights ESPN, Fox, NBC and TNT. With two locations (L.A., Dallas) and plans for more (Atlanta, Detroit), Cosm’s vision of a shared-reality fan future is quickly expanding.
ESPN, Canon, Meta: Volumetric Highlights
ESPN introduced new immersive sports storytelling with volumetric video highlights of the women’s NCAA Final Four, housed in Meta’s Xtadium and produced using Canon’s C-View system. Canon’s 100-camera system translated the footage into a digital twin of the playing surface. Fans were able to view plays from multiple angles (such as over a player’s shoulders) and perspectives for a deeper look at highlight reels and game analysis. Clips from the volumetric video saw high engagement rates across ESPN’s social accounts.
Noche UFC at the Sphere
The Sphere has been a fascinating venue since its opening, proving to be a sensational showcase for concerts and other shows. But what about sports? The UFC put on a stupendous display for September’s Riyadh Season Noche UFC, working with ESPN and Oscars awards show director Glenn Weiss to transform the Sphere’s curved indoor scene into a celebration of Mexican culture, taking advantage of the media plane to show UFC action (and promotion) in a manner no one’s seen before.
Proto Hologram
An old Blues Brothers song captures one of Proto’s themes of the past 12 months: “Sweet Home Chicago.” The hologram-device maker did a pair of projects with teams from the Windy City. Building on prior activations involving Manny Pacquiao and George Brett, Proto delivered Bears first-round draft picks Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze as holograms from Detroit to the draft party at Soldier Field. When the Bulls retired the jersey of former MVP Derrick Rose, they set up a Proto hologram so fans could take pictures and videos with the Chicago legend.
StatusPro: NFL Pro Era
StatusPro took NFL Pro Era, its VR game for Quest headsets that’s officially licensed by the NFL and NFLPA, to the next level in 2024. The third installment included the addition of a defensive first-person perspective, as well as AI, to make the game more reactive to the player’s performance. And it clearly resonates with the audience: Status Pro touts 41-minute average playtime and 1 million players. In 2024, StatusPro closed a $20 million Series A funding round and became a cohort member of the Disney Accelerator Program. Its VR also was used by ESPN to recreate key plays from NFL games and telestrate within the environment.
