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#tv Virtual Reality (VR) Future of TV

Discovery optimizes content for virtual reality platforms

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By Adam Flomenbaum, Co-Executive Editor

September 2, 2015 | 3 min read

Discovery last week announced the launch of Discovery VR, which will make the network’s content available via virtual reality platforms. The technology is powered by LittleStar and content is now available via DiscoveryVR.com, Discovery VR iOS and Android apps, the Samsung Milk VR premium video service and on network YouTube channels.

“Discovery Communications has long innovated by bringing together emerging technologies with a keen focus on quality content and storytelling, and Discovery VR is a natural and powerful extension of our commitment to aggressively pursuing new horizons,” said Conal Byrne, Senior Vice President of Digital Media, Discovery Communications. “Virtual reality has the power to immerse fans in the action, and we look forward to telling stories in this new space like never before.”

Discovery VR is powered by Littlstar, and today’s launch represents a sampling of what is to come in the weeks and months ahead. To take the plunge, visit DiscoveryVR.com, download Discovery VR apps for iOS and Android or check out the Discovery VR Channel on Samsung Milk VR.

To start, there will be nine short-form content offerings, including:

Mythbusters Shark Dive: In anticipation of Discovery Channel’s SHWeekend, a special weekend of all-new Shark Week programming on August 29 and 30, Discovery VR will feature three VR experiences from the Mythbusters team in collaboration with 360Heros, exploring underwater shipwrecks and feeding frenzies in the Bahamas.

Pay Dirt: After five seasons of the hit Discovery Channel series, Gold Rush viewers have been immersed in the hardships of gold mining, but Discovery VR will shift things from the life of gold miners to a perspective from a digger that the team uses to mine.

How to Survive in the Wild: Survivorman’s Les Stroud has braved the wild with little more than his wits, well-honed skills and equipment to document his adventures, and now he’s been outfitted with a VR rig to take viewers through an exclusive off-the-grid trek, imparting survival knowledge at every turn.

Adventure: From freeboarding down the serpentine Lombard Street in San Francisco to taking a (virtual) surfing lesson with pro-surfer and Discovery Digital Networks’ talent Kyle Thiermann, Discovery VR’s Adventure content leverages the power of this medium to immerse fans in new heart-pounding experiences.

Planet: Beginning with the towering Redwood Forest and the dazzling Half Moon Bay at sunset, Discovery VR’s Planet section will engage users with our natural home like never before – with journeys to the desert, jungles, mountains and oceans coming soon.

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