Virtual Reality: Time Previews LIFE VR Video Platform

Time Inc. previewed LIFE VR, a video platform from the LIFE brand that, according to TIme, will showcase the world through the lens of virtual reality (VR).

LIFE VR will be Time Inc.’s dedicated VR platform that will offer immersive, next-level storytelling culled from Time Inc.’s 100 global brands including Time, People, Entertainment Weekly and Sports Illustrated.

It will feature experiences across different passions with channels dedicated to news, sports, celebrity, fashion, food, travel, finance and more.

Operated under the auspices of Time, The Foundry and Time Inc. Studios, LIFE VR will house all the virtual reality content from Time Inc. brands and will debut this fall as a free standalone app on iOS and Android.

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There will be a mobile viewer experience for users of compatible goggles as well as 360 video experienced through the handset alone.

LIFE VR’s leadership team consists of Chris Hercik, VP of Creative + Content at The Foundry; Mike Beck and Ian Orefice, Senior Executive Producers of Time Inc. Video; and Mia Tramz, Managing Editor of the LIFE VR initiative and Senior Multimedia Editor of Time.

“Throughout its history, LIFE has been a lens through which to see deeper into the world around us,” said Nancy Gibbs, Editor of Time, who oversees the LIFE brand. “This breakthrough in technology now invites our audience not just to observe but to experience the stories we are telling.”

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This initiative is another example of Time Inc.’s multifaceted video strategy to deliver its video storytelling to consumers across all channels, platforms and devices.

It also follows a series of virtual reality efforts from the company, including InStyle’s first VR experience last October which featured a three-minute tour of a cover shoot starring Drew Barrymore and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s VR experiences taking viewers inside the photo shoots of former cover models on location that were presented in the SI Swim mobile app.

In support of this effort, the company has formed development partnerships with leading VR companies Framestore, NextVR and WEVR, and several projects are currently in development.

Time Inc. (NYSE:TIME) is one of the world’s leading media companies.