How the Economist is betting on virtual reality

Lucinda Southern of Digiday writes about how The Economist is betting on virtual reality.

Southern writes, “Still, Henry Stuart, co-founder and CEO of agency Visualise, which helped develop The Economist app, told Digiday that from recent confidential conversations, more publishers in the U.K. will launch VR apps in the coming months.

“‘It’s so that people can view their content in a trusted and controlled environment,’ he said. ‘It’s already a difficult process looking for good content on existing platforms like Facebook 360 and YouTube 360. There’s a lot of crap, and there’s going to be even more because of user-generated content.’ Camera brands like Nikon are bringing out consumer 360 degree cameras adding more content to a crowded space.

“Shooting a standard VR experience ranges from £15,000 – £100,000, ($22,000 – $147,000) according to Stuart, with an app costing an extra £40,000 or so ($60,000). ‘It isn’t that far out of advertising budgets,’ he said.

“Even so, publishers are still looking for business models to support VR. The New York Times VR app, which has been downloaded 500,000 times, plays its own editorial and gets brands to sponsor it, like an auto experience sponsored by a car brand.

“The Economist, which hasn’t found a way to monetize VR yet, will be coupling its upcoming experience with an Economist Films piece of content in the summer.”

Read more here.