Chinese internet platforms try out metaverse, VR for Qatar World Cup matches - Global Times

People locomotion past the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup countdown timepiece successful Doha connected October 20, 2022.Photo:VCG

As the craze of the World Cup shot tourney spreads crossed the globe, Chinese net platforms are rushing to articulation the carnival and vie for a immense fig of sports fans successful the state by offering a "metaverse-like" viewing acquisition enabled by 5G and virtual world (VR).

The efforts volition assistance the internet-based giants unafraid a increasing magnitude of postulation during the sports event, analysts said, but what matters much is that wide usage of the caller technologies volition let companies to cleanable their merchandise offerings.

Two notable participants are Chinese streaming work Migu, a subsidiary of China Mobile, and Douyin, the Chinese TikTok. The 2 streaming platforms person sub-licensed rights to aerial unrecorded and on-demand sum of the Qatar World Cup, and volition stock integer sum of the events with state-owned broadcaster China Media Group (CMG).

According to media reports, Migu and Douyin paid a "sky-high" terms for the broadcasting rights. Only six channels successful the Chinese mainland, including Migu China Mobile and Douyin, were authorized to broadcast the World Cup matches.

Gan Yuqing, main contented serviceman of Migu, said successful July that the institution volition make a satellite archetypal virtual interactive abstraction for watching the tournament, and volition livestream the lawsuit with technologies specified arsenic 5G and VR to springiness a surreal consciousness to Chinese shot fans.

On its authoritative Sina Weibo account, Migu announced plans to clasp a "Metaverse World Cup Music Festival" and a "surprise visitor" from 2070 volition look astatine the event.

Douyin flagged the slogan of "Watch the World Cup unrecorded broadcast connected Douyin" connected its authoritative Weibo account. VR headset shaper Pico, besides owned by ByteDance, said users tin ticker unrecorded broadcasts of the World Cup utilizing its VR goggles, enabling shot fans to invitation their friends from afar into their ain integer rooms to ticker matches together.

As a planetary sports event, the World Cup has a immense influence, and it has undoubtedly go a indispensable for firm marketing, You Xi, co-founder of the Kandong app, told the Global Times connected Sunday, noting that the lawsuit volition greatly pull much-needed net users to the net platforms.

Moreover, a shot crippled is simply a cleanable script for applying the caller technologies, and the lawsuit volition beryllium a large propulsion for the VR and metaverse manufacture successful China, You said.

"Since US tech elephantine Facebook transformed into Meta and enactment guardant the conception of the metaverse, advancement has been slow. But China has been pushing guardant the improvement some connected the state level and institution level," Chen Jia, an autarkic manufacture observer, told the Global Times connected Sunday.

On November 1, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, unneurotic with different 4 authorities agencies, unveiled a five-year program for 2022 to 2026, to boost the improvement of the VR industry, aiming to execute a full concern standard exceeding 350 cardinal yuan ($48.1 billion) successful 2026.

The program sets an wide extremity of achieving large breakthroughs successful cardinal technologies specified arsenic three-dimensionality and improving the ecosystem truthful that VR is adopted to beforehand economical development.

"Through the exertion of assorted scenarios successful the metaverse of this World Cup, China tin besides trial the wide prime of the manufacture concatenation successful the tract of virtual world technology, and frankincense summation an aboriginal foothold successful the sector," Chen noted.

However, Guo Tao, a seasoned net analyst, pointed retired the metaverse arsenic a full is inactive successful the archetypal signifier of development. There are immoderate problems specified arsenic immature technologies and concern models that request to beryllium verified by the market.

"The exertion successful sports events is chiefly concentrated successful the fields of virtual events, virtual anchors, virtual studios, integer absorption and different fields, portion the idiosyncratic acquisition remains inadequate and the merchandise stickiness is not enough," Guo told the Global Times connected Sunday.