TORONTO — With the world gearing up for the start of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games this weekend, CBC is making available two free apps that will not only allow Canadians to watch live-streaming coverage but to also experience virtual-reality feeds of select events.
CBC’s app for Rio 2016 and the CBC Olympic Games Virtual Reality app for iOS and Android devices will help to make CBC/Radio-Canada’s coverage of Rio 2016 “the most digitally accessible Olympic Games experience ever, with more than 4,000 live-streaming hours,” CBC said in a news release.
With CBC’s app for Rio 2016, Canadians will have access to up to 23 simultaneous live-streaming feeds of event coverage and real-time medal standings, schedules and the latest news and results on their smartphones and tablets. Users can use CBC’s app for 2016 in conjunction with the CBC Sports app to access all of CBC’s sports coverage, and will have the option to watch CBC’s live television broadcast via their mobile device or choose the specific live event coverage they want to see.
Thanks to support from Visa and the International Olympic Committee, CBC is bringing the first-ever virtual-reality experience to its coverage of the Olympic Games with up to 100 hours of live competition accessible via the CBC Olympic Games Virtual Reality app. Each day of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, users will be able to access live 360-degree motion-sensitive video and an immersive virtual-reality feed of a select event, including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and individual events including Diving, Beach Volleyball, Gymnastics, Fencing and more. To experience the live immersive virtual-reality feed, viewers will need to use a compatible virtual-reality headset. The live 360-degree video feed can be experienced by viewers simply moving their device to look around the full 360-degree field of view, CBC said.
One of the first events available to be viewed live via CBC’s app for Rio 2016 is the Canadian women’s football match against Australia, being held before the start of the Olympics, today (Wednesday, Aug.3) beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET (10:30 a.m. PT). The virtual-reality experience begins Friday, Aug. 5, with CBC’s coverage of the Opening Ceremony at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT).
