Having established its dominance on TV, the NFL is now headed to the big screen—the really, really big screen. Under a recently signed deal with technology, media and entertainment company Cosm, this week’s Sunday Night Football game featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons will be shown live in Cosm’s Dallas and Los Angeles “shared reality” venues.
The Cosm centers are built around 87-foot, curved LED domes that recreate a sideline or end zone view for fans sitting in movie theater-style rows or around more traditional tables. Cosm has already signed deals to offer college football, NBA, soccer and UFC action in its buildings, drawing rave reviews online as well. Broadcasters, in coordination with leagues, generally charge an undisclosed rights fee to license their footage for the unique experience that Cosm calls “shared reality.” For the NFL game, Cosm will use NBC’s broadcast as well as additional camera angles.
Tickets for Sunday’s event start at $22 for general admission and $50 for the reserved theater seats.
The company, which leverages tech previously used for planetariums as well as special tools to capture content in immersive formats, raised $250 million in a fundraising round earlier this year, with support from sports investors Marc Lasry, David Blitzer and Dan Gilbert. It was founded in 2020.
An Atlanta location is in the works, with Cosm hoping to have 10 spots by 2026 and up to 50 within 10 years. Earlier this week, Cosm announced a partnership with The Retail Connection to identify more physical market opportunities.
Cosm CEO Jeb Terry has previously talked about the company’s vision of bringing immersive versions of sporting event telecasts to fans around the world, whether that means cameras inside F1 cars or courtside views at Wimbledon.
