The NBA and Cosm, the immersive technology, media and entertainment company, announced a multiyear partnership that will feature a new live game viewing experience for fans. In this partnership, Cosm will produce and present select games from NBA League Pass, the league’s out-of-market live game streaming service, in immersive 8K on large-scale LED-dome systems at its forthcoming venues.
The agreement makes the NBA the first professional sports league to partner with Cosm to debut select NBA League Pass games in “Shared Reality,” a new type of immersive experience, driven by Cosm’s CX System, that bridges the virtual and physical worlds. Cosm brings the fan experiences to the screen and merges a stadium-like atmosphere — the energy of the crowd, elevated food and beverage options, specialized merchandise, and state-of-the-art visuals — to make guests feel like they are in an NBA Arena. Members of NBA ID, the league’s new global membership program, will receive exclusive benefits at Cosm’s venues, including discounts on tickets, merchandise and events.
“We are excited to bring NBA games to Cosm’s innovative venues and further our common goal of enhancing the fan experience,” said Teddy Kaplan, Associate Vice President, New Media Partner Management Lead at the NBA. “Cosm’s Shared Reality technology offers a new and exciting way to bring fans together in person and closer to the game.”
“This is one of the most transformational deals to hit the sports industry in quite some time,” added Jeb Terry, President & CEO at Cosm. “Our team has created an entirely new experience, driven by industry-leading technology, to give fans a new way to watch the game. We have an incredible opportunity to work with a partner as innovative as the NBA, to combine our collective know-how, and to rewrite the playbook on how leagues, broadcasters and brands can bring fans closer to the action than ever before. The promise of Cosm is to give you the best seat in the house, no matter where that house is. It is the best of at-home and in-arena experience as one, and we’re thrilled to deliver on that promise with the NBA.”
“Cosm is transforming the experience of the live game, and we could not have asked for a better partner than the NBA to show off the future of fandom,” added Peter Murphy, Vice President, Head of Business Development and Partnerships at Cosm. “We look forward to leveraging Cosm’s unparalleled experience in experiential technology to distribute live NBA games in a way the world has never seen before. Through our partnership, NBA games will be a pillar in Cosm’s venue programming for years to come.”
The NBA and Cosm will continue to work together to deliver live, immersive 8K feeds directly into Cosm’s research and development facility (“Experience Center”) in Salt Lake City, Utah. Both the league and company will collaborate and amplify the announcement by hosting private events at the Experience Center throughout NBA All-Star 2023.
Cosm recently broke ground at its first venue in Los Angeles at Hollywood Park, adjacent to SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome, and announced its second venue in Dallas at Grandscape, with plans to expand to additional locations in key markets. Details around the schedule of events upon the opening of these venues will be shared at a later date.
