FandangoNow, a transactional video on-demand service, is launching an app for the Oculus Go and Quest virtual reality headsets.
The store will provide access to hundreds of 3D titles including “Spider-Man: Far from Home” along with more than 90,000 new release and catalog movies and next-day TV shows.
“We are constantly looking for innovative ways to deliver high-quality entertainment to movie and TV fans on pioneering platforms,” said Fandango President Paul Yanover in a statement. “Our new initiative with Oculus will give fans a new and exciting way to explore, discover and truly immerse themselves in the movies, bringing them to new cinematic worlds they’ve never visited before.”
“We know how much people love experiencing media in VR,” said Colum Slevin, head of media at Oculus, in a statement. “The immersive nature of VR along with the extensive catalog of 3D and traditional films coming with FandangoNow is a winning combination.”
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FandangoNow joins a growing roster of video streaming services that have launched apps on Oculus and other virtual reality platforms.
In July, Amazon Prime Video launched an Oculus app in the U.S. and the U.K. In addition to its streaming video library, Amazon also included a selection of 360-degree videos.
One month prior, Sling TV began a beta launch for a new co-watching feature for its app. Sling TV customers can turn on their Oculus Go headset and choose to form a party and invite other Oculus users. The party host can open the Oculus TV app and then enter the Sling TV app to stream live TV and on-demand titles while sitting on a virtual couch next to the other party guests’ avatars.
Despite a respectable amount of content and games for virtual reality headsets – and options like Oculus Go driving down the cost of ownership – virtual reality has yet to tap into much of the U.S. marketplace. According to Parks Associates, 8% of U.S. broadband households own a VR headset, while just 25% are familiar with VR headsets. The research firm’s new study, "Virtual Reality: The Evolving Ecosystem," found that consumer familiarity with VR technology stayed stuck on approximately one-fourth of U.S. broadband households between 2017 and 2018.