The landscape of live entertainment is diverging sharply. While Hollywood grapples with the existential threat streaming poses to cinemas, the world of sports is witnessing a parallel yet distinct evolution. Stadium ticket sales remain robust, but a quiet revolution is underway in how fans consume the action, driven by a demand for personalised, on-demand experiences that mirror the control offered by streaming giants.
The Rise of Immersive and Personalised Viewing
Unlike the film industry, live sports have maintained a strong pull at the gate. Even MLB's struggling Colorado Rockies sold 2.4 million tickets in 2025, despite a poor record. However, a 2023 Deloitte survey of 3,000 US fans revealed a crucial shift: younger generations crave greater control over content and delivery. This demand is now materialising in two key technological streams.
On one end, venues like the year-old Cosm Los Angeles offer a 'shared reality' experience, projecting televised sports onto a vast 90-foot LED dome while retaining traditional stadium hospitality. On the opposite end, technology companies are pushing for deeply personal immersion. The journey began with Meta's Oculus Rift CV1 in 2016, but meaningful sports integration has been slow. The NBA became a key partner in 2020, yet it took until 2023 for fans to get a true taste of live VR basketball.
Now, options are expanding. Fans can purchase Oculus headsets for between $250 and $649 for a 180-degree courtside view at 52 NBA games via the Xtadium app. Separately, the Los Angeles Lakers partnered with Apple to stream select games on the premium $3,499 Apple Vision Pro headset. These platforms incorporate social features, allowing avatar interaction, and even gambling applications. However, adoption faces hurdles. The Deloitte survey noted only 5% of fans currently use VR for sports, with critics like digital engagement advisor Matt Stagg arguing headsets isolate viewers from the communal vibe essential to fandom.
Augmented Reality: A More Social and Accessible Future?
Enter Augmented Reality (AR) glasses, a potentially more palatable alternative. Cheaper and far less cumbersome than full VR headsets, devices like the XREAL Air 2 Pro (around $650, with models from $299) resemble ordinary sunglasses. They plug directly into a phone or tablet, requiring no separate charge, and project a large, virtual screen in the user's field of vision.
This technology offers a compelling compromise: immersion without complete isolation. A user can watch a life-sized broadcast while remaining aware of their physical surroundings, enabling shared moments like one partner watching a film while the other enjoys a basketball game. "That's why the smart glasses are better — they keep that community vibe," Stagg told The Athletic. He predicts they will follow the adoption path of AirPods, becoming a commonplace accessory that augments rather than replaces reality.
Features are becoming sophisticated. XREAL offers custom prescription lens inserts, and accessories like a $99 fisheye camera allow users to record video or anchor their virtual screen in physical space. While some AR applications overlay graphics onto the real world for street use, the immediate appeal for many lies in private, comfortable viewing anywhere—transforming a long flight or hospital wait into a front-row sports experience.
Beyond Tech: The Demand for Customisation Reshapes Live Events
The drive for personalisation extends beyond screens and headsets, influencing behaviour inside stadiums themselves. A subtle but significant trend reported by Axios in September shows roughly 13.3% of ticket sales in 2025 were for single attendees, a 3% rise from 2022. While rising costs and premium VIP experiences may be factors, it underscores a broader theme: fans are curating their own ideal experience, whether alone or in a group.
Venues are responding with data-driven customisation. Ideas range from the practical—digital signage showing restroom queue times—to the targeted, like sending automatic coupon offers to a fan's phone when they enter a team store. Artificial intelligence also looms large, with an August IBM study finding over half of fans want AI-driven commentary and insights, both at home and in-person.
The future of sports viewership is not a single technology but an expanding menu of options. From the collective spectacle of LED domes to the private immersion of VR, and the blended reality of AR glasses, the power is shifting to the fan. The challenge for leagues, broadcasters, and venues is to provide the right tools for this new era of customised fandom, where the only constant is the demand for control.
