This might convince a few people to expand their subscriptions from the daily newspaper to the New York Times website and mobile applications. In addition, Times Insidersubscribers and a select amount of Times digital subscribers will have a promo sent to their email that will allow them to also redeem the headset for free.
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Subscribers will be given the Google “Cardboard” viewer which retails at $25.
At The New York Times’ NewFront presentation to brands and advertisers back in April, the venerable publication made a big show of its commitment to virtual reality, screening clips of “Walking in New York”, a 360-degree video by filmmaker Chris Milk and his company VRSE, on a big screen and at several Samsung Gear VR headsets on tables around the room.
The first VR film is called The Displaced and details “the resilience of three extraordinary children uprooted by war”.
The distribution of the kits will coincide with the debut of NYT VR, a digital platform that will deliver a series of virtual reality short films to subscribers over the next year.
“The Times will release two more VR films this year and more in 2016″. “In the context of global reporting and conflict reporting, where our readers rely on us to bring them news and stories from remote and inaccessible places, this has huge potential”. Viewers will be able to watch the films in VR using the NYT VR app and Google Cardboard.
The app will be used to deliver immersive editorial as well as advertising experiences to viewers with smartphones, compatible with both iOS and Android devices, and launches with several major ad sponsors already on board.
Aside from the editorial content, the project also involves paid advertisements. The launch of an app dedicated to VR highlights a commitment to this technology at NYT, and Silverstein hopes it will prompt more people to think of virtual reality as an important format for news.
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PCWorld said editions of The New York Times will arrive on doorsteps on the weekend of November 7 with Google Cardboard included. The company includes The New York Times, International New York Times, NYTimes.com, international.nytimes.com and related properties.
