Google, MLB Launch Original VR Video Series Featuring Young Baseball Stars

Google launched an original virtual reality video series for Daydream in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) on Thursday.

The move is intended to help position YouTube as the next sensation for online video viewers to explore original programming.

The latest creation, "On the Verge," provides an up-close and behind-the-scenes look at the lives of young MLB stars released on the MLB.com At Bat VR Daydream app.

The first episodes take viewers on the field, inside the batting cage, in the clubhouse and to other places with stars like the Pittsburgh Pirates' Josh Bell, the Boston Red Sox's Mookie Betts, the San Diego Padres' Manuel Margot, and the Minnesota Twins' Jose Berrios.

These four episodes will also soon be available on MLB's YouTube page.

The stories were told through Google's Jump, a professional VR video platform that makes  3D-360 video production possible. Jump cameras are designed to work with the Jump Assembler to enable seamless VR video production.

Original video series like this one are likely one reason why earlier this week Victor Anthony, managing director and internet media analyst at Aegis Capital, told CNBC that if YouTube were a company it would have a value of at least $75 billion.

"On The Verge" isn't the only video series created with Jump. Others include The New York Times’ Great Performers collection, Within’s “The Possible” series and Wevr’s “Internet Surfer” video, according to Google.

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