MOSCOW, DECEMBER 18, 2015 - RT announced the launch of a new mobile application during a recent conference in Moscow marking the channel’s 10th anniversary. RT360 is a video app that takes the user inside a news story by immersing them in a panoramic video.
RT also released its first panoramic mini-documentary titled Donbass 360: The Ravaged Heart of Europe. This unique production experience utilized 360-degree drone camera technology, and filmed footage of Donetsk Airport, destroyed by fighting in eastern Ukraine. By watching this video via the RT360 app, or with virtual reality glasses, a viewer can get an inside look at the airport’s bombed-out terminals, experience a bird’s eye view of the city of Donetsk, hover above the separation line and see the ongoing exchange of fire.
“The 360-degree video, virtual reality format opens up new horizons for journalists. It shifts the perspective for the first time in the history of storytelling. Reporters and broadcasters can no longer simply tell the viewer which way to look by pointing the camera in their chosen direction. Now, we can bring the audience to the center of the story,” said RT’s Director of Marketing and Strategic Development Alina Mikhaleva. “Virtual reality technology will hit the market in earnest next year, and we are very happy that RT is one of the world’s pioneers in producing news content in such an innovative format.”
Alongside the Donbass mini-doc, RT360 currently offers a selection of materials that includes a 360-video of a newscast airing from RT’s Moscow studios, footage of this year’s Victory Day parade in Red Square, and a one-of-a-kind panoramic tour of Moscow from AirPano.
RT’s panoramic videos will also be available on the network’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, both of which already support the 360-video format. You can also watch the videos using virtual reality glasses at VRideo.
RT is a global news network that broadcasts 24/7 in English, Arabic and Spanish from its studios in Moscow, Washington, DC, and London. It is available to 700 million viewers worldwide. RT is the most watched TV news network on YouTube with more than 3 billion views. RT is the winner of the Monte Carlo TV Festival Awards for best 24-hr broadcast, and the only Russian TV channel to garner three nominations for the prestigious International Emmy Award for News.