New Perspective: Why Cosm's Offer of "Shared Reality" is so Appealing to Fans and Teams 🏟️
By blending cutting-edge technology with the communal, social aspects of sports, Cosm are reimagining the future of live sports and entertainment...
25 September 2024
The live sports experience has always been about more than just the game itself. It’s the thrill of sitting in the stadium, the collective energy of the crowd, and the excitement of witnessing a moment as it unfolds in real-time.
For many, this is why virtual reality (VR) just doesn’t cut it for consuming sport—it’s missing that shared connection.
But what if that experience could be replicated and even enhanced in a venue thousands of miles away from the physical stadium?
This is the promise of Cosm’s ‘Shared Reality’ venues.
Through leveraging planetarium technology, Cosm is redefining the fan experience by transporting audiences into the heart of the action, as Corey Breton, their Head of Venues, explained in a recent interview on the Sports Pundit Podcast:
“What we're providing is that VR without the goggles experience, but to your point, it can be shared with others… It's a celebration. It's community. It's bringing people together for a common cause.”
This concept transforms how fans in places like Dallas or Los Angeles engage with live sports, making them feel as though they have the best seat in the house—every single time.
The approach is more than simply broadcasting a live feed onto a giant screen. The company controls every aspect of the fan experience, from the cameras capturing panoramic views at the stadiums to the app for ordering food and drinks.
“We're gathering everything in a panoramic view,” Breton explained. “We're then feeding that through [to] our production team here in Playa Vista. And then from there, as we like to say, we shoot once we distribute everywhere.”
As a result, "people feel as if they've been transported to the event, so you legitimately have the best seat in the house every single time, whether that's pitch side, field side, bench side, court side, and or in the octagon.”
Unlike watching a game in a pub, where the focus may not be on the game at all, or at home, alone, Cosm’s venues encourage interaction among fans in a setting designed to bring people together. Whether seated on plush couches or in premium seating areas, the goal is to replicate and elevate the energy of the live stadium experience.
In doing so, Cosm is opening live sport and entertainment up to whole host of new fans.
While not everyone can afford a plane ticket to Manchester to visit Old Trafford or a Super Bowl seat, they can afford a $35 ticket to a Cosm venue that offers an immersive, high-end experience.
“Our goal, Breton emphasised, “is to democratise access, to create more accessibility for people that typically wouldn't have the ability to go to the match because of distance or because [it’s] gated from a price point lens.”
The advantage for fans is clear, but it’s also hugely advantageous for the teams and leagues, too.
By offering a venue where thousands of fans can experience sold-out matches or global sporting events, Cosm gives teams like Manchester United or the Kansas City Chiefs a new way to engage with individuals who might never attend in person.
This not only expands the fanbase, but also opens up new commercial opportunities for them, as well as for their media rights holders.
Cosm’s recent deals with leagues like the NBA and UFC, as well as Premier League and NFL via NBC, demonstrate the growing recognition of this potential.
"We’re net new to the ecosystem. We're net new rights. And so, for us, we've been filming matches, games, events, over the last four years to kind of build that trust and credibility in the space,” Breton explained.
As a result, Cosm has ambitious plans to expand their offering over the coming months and years. And the company recently raised $250 million from investors like Marc Lasry and David Blitzer to help to fund this vision.
By 2028, Cosm plan to have eight venues, with London high on the list of global cities being considered.
Looking further ahead, they envision a future where 100+ venues will allow an event that is happening in a 25,000-seater arena to be enjoyed by 200,000 or more fans across multiple locations - with each feeling as if they had the best seat in the house.
By blending cutting-edge technology with the communal, social aspects of sports, Cosm are reimagining the future of live sports and entertainment.
As Breton was clear to emphasise, Cosm isn’t the technology of the future, it is the “technology of now,” but their future, and the future of fans in the cities that they chose to set up base, certainly does look bright.