from Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star,

Virtual reality is about to have a faceoff with hockey fans. Canadian viewers will get the chance to try 360 VR, the immersive video technology that allows viewers 360-degree viewing, over the next six Saturday broadcasts of Hockey Night in Canada. There will be one 360 VR-compatible game each week, starting with the Calgary-Vancouver broadcast next Saturday.

The technology, available through the Sportsnet app, will require viewers to have a capable smart phone and a headset similar to Google Cardboard. You can also watch online and use your mouse to explore the views at Sportsnet.ca.

Molson Canadian, which is partnering with the sports network, will be packing 350,000 headsets into cases of beer. The sets will come with a PIN code to access additional content.

“We thought it was an interesting technology that we think has some legs, but is still in it infancy,” said Rob Corte, Sportsnet’s vice president of production. “We looked at this as an opportunity to present the game in a different way, to give a new experience to the viewers that we could expand relatively easily, so that a lot of people got a chance to experience it.”

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