
SVG Sit-Down: NBA's Teddy Kaplan on the Metaverse and the Future of Fandom NBA Lane in Meta's Horizon World is intended to allow fans to congregate and interact By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Thursday, January 26, 2023 - 9:39 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The NBA and Meta expanded their relationship around VR this week, and the deal is about more than just expanding the Metaverse: it's about learning what NBA fans want out of this new form of engagement and also what hard-core Metaverse users want from the NBA. Teddy Kaplan, associate VP, new media partner management lead, NBA, sat down with SVG to discuss the new deal and what it means not only to the NBA but to everyone.
The NBA's Teddy Kaplan: The Metaverse is one of many things we are doing to make our game more appealing to fans around the world.
Meta Horizon World is a free app that can be experienced on a Meta Quest headset. Last year, the NBA launched NBA Lane in Horizon World, offering a free-throw shootout, low-gravity dunk contest, and more. This new team adds the NBA Arena experience, featuring live NBA League Pass games in virtual reality throughout the season. You just extended your work with Meta under a new multi-year agreement. How will this new deal take things to a new level?
We've been broadcasting VR games on Oculus since 2017, and this deal expands that by establishing a world in the Horizon World space, which will be evergreen. Last year, around the time the playoffs started, we launched our NBA Lane in Horizon World, and it ran through the end of June. Now we're making it evergreen and the hub for NBA fans to congregate, gather, and interact with other NBA fans and games.
From a broadcast perspective, we're expanding our coverage schedule and expanding from 26 to 52 games in Horizon World. We are also experimenting with some new formats - 47 of those will be the League Pass 2D broadcast - but in an immersive space so fans can meet in the world and talk about it and walk around it. Five games will be traditional VR broadcast with dedicated cameras and announce teams.
What do you see as the potential around the Metaverse?
We want to bring our games and express our games in new ways and in new avenues, as we have done with volumetric capture or alternate broadcasts on our app. The Metaverse is one of many things we are doing to make our game more appealing to fans around the world.
Certainly, we're aware and excited about the appeal of the Metaverse to younger fans who have a headset and use that as their entry into this world. That's one of the reasons we're experimenting and bringing regular linear games into the Metaverse. We're interested to find out what appeals and what people want. Do they want the new angles of a dedicated VR production, or is it the interaction and ability to meet up with their friends living somewhere else and watching a game standing next to them? And then there are the interactive games and all the other elements, and those get people to stay during the 22 hours a day when there isn't an NBA game.
But I see this as an evolution of the fan experience. If you lived in Paris and wanted to get together with fans of your favorite team, you would search to find the best bar to watch the game. This is the next step: you can meet up with like-minded fans and watch the game with people who have the same interest and love of the game.
The biggest complaint people used to have about VR was that it was anti-social when you put the headset on and were secluded from the world. Now it's extremely social, and the reason users will want to stay in the headset is to see their friends or meet new people.
The NBA now has a permanent home in the Metaverse, designed to give NBA fans a new way to engage with the league, its broadcasts, and each other.
Do you think it's important for other leagues and everybody to get involved with the Metaverse, so everyone gives it a collective lift?
Our fans are tech-savvy and first adopters, and we see these partnerships as a way to establish a reputation and a position in the space. Someone who has a VR headset will experience the NBA and say it's amazing, and they will wish their other favorite leagues or brands were in the Metaverse.
What does Meta bring to the table?
They've been amazing through this process, and it's truly iterative as we look to them to tell us what works in Horizon World and what doesn't. We're innovation partners and constantly thinking about what we can do to make the experience better for our fans. It's one of those relationships where we are aligned and things fall into place. Their work is incredible. I clearly have a bias, but the work they have done is unparalleled.
In the NBA Lane project last year, for example, we saw that fans would be fixated watching the top 10 highlights and talking to each other. When we saw that reaction with highlights, we wanted to see what the reaction would be like with a live game.
We're constantly trying out new formats to figure what works. I think back to the first VR experience I had, which was a preseason game in Brazil with the camera at midcourt. It was really cool, but then it felt like you were watching a tennis match, and we realized people like having a director switching cameras and telling them where to look.
So we've evolved every year and even every month. This is just the next step.
Tell us a bit about how the Metaverse comes together technically.
Luckily for everyone who is using it, I don't have to be involved in actually creating the code and programming: we have smarter people who can do that. But we do have a team, and Meta has a team building out this world from soup to nuts. They're amazingly talented, and we're building off what the Meta
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
12/05/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, has appointed Randy Koeman as Sales Manager, Netherlands, marking anot...
12/05/2026
Taiwan Television has expanded its HD content ingest workflow capabilities by investing in the PlayBox Neo Suite - a leading multi-channel multi-server UHD/HD/S...
12/05/2026
Jigsaw24 is strengthening its media team with the appointment of Tom Laker as Client Director and Ashish Chauhan as Project Manager. These strategic hires bring...
12/05/2026
Broadcast playout leader showcases hybrid IP infrastructure and workflow automation with Videoland deployment as regional benchmark...
12/05/2026
dzjinius, the all-in-one production management platform for the media and entertainment industry, will showcase its centralised approach to production workflows...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
NUGEN Audio will debut Version 1.1 of DialogCheck, its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at the 2026 Media Production & Technology Show (S...
12/05/2026
The reactive visuals can adapt to any stage or screen setup and comprise 50 layers of Notch content
Today, Disguise announced that its high performance GX 3 m...
12/05/2026
Snapgrid , Snapbag & Airglow Expand Creative Control for the ARRI Modular LED BarFollowing the launch of the ARRI Omnibar, DoPchoice introduces a dedicated li...
12/05/2026
From finance and procurement to supply chain and manufacturing, specialized AI agents are moving into the enterprise systems where business decisions are made, ...
11/05/2026
New production unit features not only wealth of Ross gear but also Sony cameras, Canon lenses, and a Calrec Argo S audio board...
11/05/2026
Solid State Logic (SSL) has announced TCA Tour, a portable fly-away audio production system built from System T components for broadcast, touring, and live prod...
11/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced it will serve as Official Connectivity Integ...
11/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and NETGEAR AV have announced a plugin that automates network configuration for G&D KVM-over-IP deployments on NETGEAR AV Line infra...
11/05/2026
The Famous Group (TFG) and Elite Edge, a production studio specializing in live-action production, show opens, set design, and fabrication for sports and live e...
11/05/2026
The native of S o Paulo, Brazil, will play a crucial role in the broadcaster'...
11/05/2026
Cobalt Digital will exhibit its IPMX/ST 2110 product lineup at BroadcastAsia 2026 (Stand 5D2-4), anchored by the COBALT blueCORE family of standalone signal pro...
11/05/2026
Interra Systems will exhibit at BroadcastAsia 2026 (Stand 5C1-10), demonstrating...
11/05/2026
T-Mobile is serving as a technology partner for the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, deploying 5G connectivity and ...
11/05/2026
Vizrt has announced it has been named an Official Technical Supplier of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, in partnership with host broadcaster ORF. The 70th edi...
11/05/2026
The WNBA and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced a multi-year partnership making AWS the Official Cloud and Cloud AI Partner of the WNBA. AWS is also joini...
11/05/2026
Austrian private broadcaster kronehit publicly awarded SLG Broadcast AG and Lawo...
11/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
11/05/2026
As Eurovision fans gear up to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the iconic song ...
11/05/2026
Pela primeira vez na hist ria, o Brasil figura entre os oito maiores mercados de...
11/05/2026
New desktop instrument focused on tactile performance
Bastl Instruments have announced the Kalimba, a new desktop instrument that combines physical modellin...
11/05/2026
Compact sampling workstation gains new features
1010music have announced the blackbox 2, a new version of their compact standalone sampler designed for DAWl...
11/05/2026
Performance-focused sequencer with microtonal control
Berlin-based KOMA Elektronik have announced Monoplex, a new 42HP Eurorack sequencer designed for hands...
11/05/2026
Boasts wireless control from mobile devices
The latest iteration of IK Multimedia's compact amp and effects modelling pedal expands on the capabilities ...
11/05/2026
Spans traditional orchestral and experimental sounds
Sonora Cinematic have recently released the third instalment in their Transfigured Orchestra series, de...
11/05/2026
Our exhibition coverage
Watch all our SUPERBOOTH 2026 video coverage in one place. Check back to this page regularly as we will be updating with more video ...
11/05/2026
You're not meant to look at an Eclipse, but you won't be able to take yo...
11/05/2026
L3Harris has completed more than 50% of a nationwide effort to rebuild the invisible backbone of America's airspace....
11/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, is participating in the Equity Forum Ge...
11/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/05/2026
As Asia Pacific's streaming market continues to evolve, operators across the region are rebalancing their strategies and shifting their focus from subscribe...
11/05/2026
LONDON, MAY 11, 2026 QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will showcase its latest innovat...
11/05/2026
Cobalt Digital's BroadcastAsia Line-up Highlights Flexible End-to-End IPMX/ST 2110 Ecosystem
Award-winning blueCORE standalone signal processors at the he...
11/05/2026
Encompass Digital Media, in partnership with VideoMagic International, announced at NAB 2026 the launch of Altitude Intelligence, an AI-powered platform designe...
11/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...