The Kontinental hockey League, together with technology company DVR and Internet portal Championat.com – an official partner of the League – is proud to present Russian hockey’s first digitally produced 360-degree format video.

The historic clip features scenes from Game 2 of the 2016 Gagarin Cup final series between CSKA and Metallurg Magnitogorsk, played on the 9th April at the CSKA Ice Palace in Moscow.

Championat.com managing director Dmitry Sergeyev had this to say of the event: “This is our first experience of using of virtual reality (VR), and I am sure this is the future of televised sport. To all intents and purposes, it is as if you were seeing the action from inside the stadium. I recommend that everyone should try out the VR helmet or glasses and watch our video. It’s fascinating.”

Mikhail Torkunov, general director at DVR, added: “The video was shot in the 360-degree format using special cameras sited in twelve locations around the Ice Palace. Thanks to new developments in VR technology, fans will soon be able to enjoy the experience of watching their favorite team play, even if they are in a different city or country.”

The technology opens up many possibilities of significantly pushing the boundaries of game coverage, and could be used in production of live broadcasts or highlights, championship games, training sessions, interviews and all the other events from in and around the hockey arenas.

See for yourself – click on the screen to play the clip and use the left mouse button to rotate the video images, or alternatively, try it on your mobile device.

Sergei Dobrokhvalov, KHL Marketing and Communications vice-president, gave his reaction: “This is the first time this kind of video has been used to cover a sporting event in Russia, and we are delighted that the fans will be able to enjoy the game in a completely new way. We hope that in the future we can use this technology to raise the quality of KHL broadcasts to an unprecedented level.”