In the next installment of our Investing in 5G: Portfolio Spotlight Series, we spoke with YBVR Chief Customer Officer Goetz Kursawe to learn more about YBVR’s impact on sports tech and 5G’s ability to increase fan engagement in games from anywhere in the world.
Tell us about your company. How has YBVR changed real-time streaming for the consumers who use your technology?
Do you remember the last time you went with family to your favorite weekend basketball game? The vibes, the energy and excitement, and the sounds of cheering fans on the floor? All of that might be a distant memory, as the COVID-19 pandemic changed viewing and fan habits.
The crisis has undoubtedly highlighted the importance of physical presence – and now we understand better how crucial those elements are when developing remote experiences. The challenge now is, how do we bring arena-level excitement to fans at home? It has to be more than just live streaming.
YBVR has tried to be ahead of the curve, putting fan engagement at the forefront from the moment we were founded five years ago.
Our patented video streaming solution allows fans to personalize their remote viewing experience using the best available screen. Users can seamlessly switch between TV, 180 and 360 cameras at any given time. We provide immersive court-side views from the best available seat in the arena, in 8K@60fps quality. We’ve also enabled new interactive features through real-time streaming like gamification, live betting or watching together with friends.
You often hear about the “Metaverse,” which blends our real world with the virtual world. Well, that world is becoming a reality here and now.
How do you utilize 5G? How has it further developed, and will continue to, your company’s mission to bring all the capabilities of low latency viewing while streaming.
Low latency is an essential element that helps us enable real-time use cases. For instance, low latency allows spectators in venues to experience their favorite team through completely new camera angles, whether through their own mobile device from the seat, the aisle or anywhere at the concourse.
While following the live action in the venue, fans can switch to the camera of their choice, analyze the game through immersive replays, get dynamic overlays of stats or use the immense real-estate that 360 viewing offers to follow multiple games simultaneously.
But that’s just the beginning. Now, with the broader deployment of 5G networks and the availability of greater processing power at the edge of mobile networks means that more real-time use cases can be explored and brought to the market. Live entertainment will completely change from passive to active watching, benefitting both fans and businesses with new levels of fan engagement.
How should (consumer and enterprise) entrepreneurs be thinking about 5G in your industry?
Entrepreneurship is all about solving problems and finding ways to monetize these solutions, and entrepreneurs are often confronted with the imbalance of dreams and reality.
For example, connectivity and the internet. Many ideas are built upon limitations or workarounds based on current available infrastructure. But wouldn’t your solution look different if you founded your ideation endeavor with the assumption that there are no network limitations? 5G comes with many groundbreaking capabilities which overcome those original hurdles, even though it’ll take some time to harness the full power of 5G. But the entrepreneurs who assume the availability of those new capabilities from the start of their product implementation will have the first-mover advantage as soon as 5G becomes fully available.
Founder tips, any go-to resources for founders in your industry/area?
For early access to the latest and greatest new features of 5G, Verizon invites startups into their 5G Labs. Not only is this useful for early testing, but Verizon business and technical experts also provide feedback on the product and experience.
How has Verizon Ventures helped?
One very useful advantage working with the Verizon Ventures team has been to have an inside partner on our side who helps us navigate the industry network, and makes impactful introductions to the right team members within the company.
YBVR Chief Customer Officer Goetz Kursawe
