Sports Illustrated heads to top of Mt Everest with VR cameras

Dive Brief:

Time Inc.'s Sports Illustrated is partnering with the digital network Endemol Shine Beyond USA to create a complete Mount Everest climb in virtual reality, the first of its kind according to a post on SI.com. The documentary series is called “Capturing Everest."
The production debuts in early 2017 as part of Time Inc.’s new LIFE VR platform, and SI.com will publish the series to its website in the form of 360-degree video.
Video has already been shot for the production, and features six-time Everest summiteer Garret Madison and three-time Everest summiteer Brent Bishop. SI first experimented with VR as a component of its most recent swimsuit edition.

Dive Insight:

Virtual Reality presents unique storytelling opportunities for media brands, and 360-degree video documentaries might be a huge draw for Sports Illustrated readers both eager to give the immersive tech a spin and to experience scaling one of the world's toughest mountains.

"Attacking the world’s highest summit seemed like the perfect place to go with our new VR initiative, and by partnering with Endemol Shine and adding in the world-class storytellers from Sports Illustrated, I think we have something truly special and unique to offer our audience," said Mia Tramz, managing editor of LIFE VR, in the SI.com announcment. "We can’t wait to bring viewers along for this once-in-a-lifetime journey. This is exactly the type of experience LIFE VR was created for."

Time Inc. appears to hopping on the VR trend at the right time: A recent Juniper Research report predicted that consumer spend on VR hardware could hit $5 billion this year alone, and $50 billion within the next five years. That means more devices readily available in consumer households, something that hasn't always been the case for the tech, which is often labeled as niche.

Other major publishers have dabbled in VR to success in the past, like The New York Times, who received a lot of buzz when it sent out DIY cardboard headsets to readers, and the newspaper now has its own standalone VR app.