Since 1995, X Games has captivated millions of fans worldwide through our marquee action sports events. Under the ESPN umbrella, the X Games brand has been a staple for progression – both on the athletic front and within the company – pushing new technology to engage our global fan base.
In 2016, the X Games team launched our inaugural presentation of 360˚ video. It delivered a new interactive perspective to our audience. This approach also helped pioneer the multi-camera 360˚ video efforts for the ESPN company.
Throughout the year, we have honed our 360˚ video efforts to continue to better serve our fans by giving them a deeper look into our events.
So, what does it feel like to launch off our iconic 85-foot-tall Big Air ramp on a skateboard?
What is it like to go 100 mph on a motorcycle?
What does it feel like to launch off of a 70-foot jump on a snowboard?
What is it like to be standing stage-side with Grammy Award-winning performers The Chainsmokers?
These are the questions that X Games sought to answer in our POV, 360˚ video campaign.
The X Games 360˚ video campaign strategy was to provide an alternative first-person perspective and engage our fans with the same feeling of excitement that our athletes and artists feel while competing and performing on the world's biggest action sports stage.
X Games Aspen 2016
X Games Aspen 2016 was the launch of our multi-camera 360˚ video. We worked with a multi-camera GoPro rig to stitch together two 360˚ videos showing an immersive POV from the athlete's perspective.
The snowboard slopestyle 360˚ video was used in our ESPN broadcast to highlight the slopestyle course and show a 360˚ view of what it felt like to be competing in Aspen.
The Skier X 360˚ video demonstrated a first-person POV alongside the world's best racers as they flew down the mountain in Aspen, Colorado, hitting jumps and battling to be first across the finish line.
X Games Austin 2016
The 360˚ video strategy at X Games Austin 2016 was to create a daily 360˚ highlight to distribute on Facebook and integrate in our ESPN broadcast to give fans an interactive first-person feeling of competing on the world's biggest stage.
X Games Aspen 2017
X Games Aspen 2017 paved the way to create a multi-level experience that would show our fans everything from the athlete POV, to the on-site festival and front row interactive experiences at the musical performances. This video highlights the four-day festival in Aspen, Colorado.
Between three events, the X Games team created seven 360˚ videos that have reached more than 37.2 MM people and received more than 8.1 MM views. The top video has reached more than 8.5 MM fans and viewed 2.6 MM times, to date.