Getty Announces New Global Virtual Reality Partnership

Getty Images Announces New Global Virtual Reality Partnership with Jaunt
Exclusive agreement delivers 360 cinematic virtual reality video for creating one of a kind immersive experiences

Auckland, NEW ZEALAND - 15th June 2017: Getty Images, a global leader in visual communication, has today announced an exclusive global distribution partnership with Jaunt, the industry leader in high quality cinematic virtual reality (VR). The new partnership will enable Getty Images to provide premium cinema-grade VR video to enable today’s leading content creators to deliver the highest-quality 360-degree content experiences to audiences worldwide.

Getty Images’ commitment to growing and innovating with VR content make the company an ideal partner for Jaunt. Customers will be able to access Jaunt’s immersive 360° stereo video experiences through Getty Images’ websites alongside Getty Images’ collection of over 25,000 360 photographs.

“Today’s partnership with Jaunt takes us into the next frontier of immersive experiences and we look forward to working with them to provide our customers with a level of VR content not yet seen in this space,” said Anthony Holland Parkin, Head of VR, Getty Images. “By including compelling VR content as part of our core offering, we are facilitating the growth of – and driving demand for – this exciting new medium that is revolutionising the way we experience the world around us.”

Jaunt has the largest library of high quality cinematic VR content in the industry. Since its inception in 2013, Jaunt has been traveling the globe, producing cutting edge VR titles. At the same time, Jaunt’s producers have been documenting their travels and experiences, amassing and cataloguing clips for later use. Working with Getty Images, the leader in high quality stock footage, Jaunt will now be able to share some of this footage with the creative community.

“We are thrilled to be working with Getty Images to bring our high quality 360 and cinematic VR footage to the wider creative community,” said Mitzi Reaugh, Global Head of Strategy & Content Licensing at Jaunt. “Just as meaningful as producing premium VR experiences is to Jaunt, it’s equally important to help facilitate others to create quality 360 and VR content. We aim to do all we can for the growth of this powerful emerging medium.”

Leveraging over 20 years of experience in visual storytelling, Getty Images’ industry-leading team of photographers and videographers are already covering events like the Oscars®, Olympics and 2016 presidential election cycle in 360°. This content has to date proved hugely popular receiving millions of views, with an average dwell time of over two minutes for each image.

“In 2017 skepticism around VR has finally taken a backseat. What has become clear to brands and the public alike, is that VR is here to stay. Undoubtedly, it has the potential to transform the way the public consumes and engages with brands. At Getty Images we are embedding VR content technologies into the core of our business and ensuring that, as use of VR continues to grow, its users are further enhancing their experience with access to the world’s best content,” added Holland Parkin.

The deal follows Getty Images’ partnership with Google, which sees Getty Images supplying hi-res VR content from current events around the world for Google Expeditions. The company has already forged relationships with leaders in this arena including Oculus Rift, Experience 360°, 360Cities.net, AirPano, Laduma and Yellowbird.

For more information visit: http://www.gettyimages.co.nz/vr

# END #

About Getty Images:

Getty Images is the most trusted and esteemed source of visual content in the world, with over 200 million assets including photos, videos, and music, available through its industry-leading sites www.gettyimages.co.nz and www.istockphoto.com. The Getty Images website serves creative, business and media customers in almost 200 countries and is the first place people turn to discover, purchase and share powerful visual content from the world’s best photographers and videographers. Getty Images works with over 200,000 contributors and hundreds of image partners to provide comprehensive coverage of more than 130,000 news, sport and entertainment events, impactful creative imagery to communicate any commercial concept and the world’s deepest digital archive of historic photography.

Visit Getty Images at www.gettyimages.co.nz to learn more about how the company is advancing the unique role of still and moving imagery in communication and business, and enabling creative ideas to come to life. For company news and announcements, visit our Press Room, and for the stories and inspiration behind our content, visit Stories & Trends. Find Getty Images on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Tumblr, or download the Getty Images app where you can explore, save and share the world’s best imagery.

About Jaunt Inc.

Jaunt is pioneering the future of creative storytelling through cinematic virtual reality. Founded in 2013, Jaunt is the leading developer of the hardware, software, tools, and applications to enable cinematic VR and put the power of virtual reality in the hands of today’s best content creators. Jaunt works with leading creatives – from brands to artists to filmmakers – to create cutting-edge content accessible across all devices and platforms.

Headquartered in San Mateo, California, the company also maintains a presence in Los Angeles, CA through its studio arm, Jaunt Studios; a European business office in London. In 2016, Jaunt established Shanghai-based Jaunt China, a VR company formed in partnership with Shanghai Media Group (SMG) and China Media Capital (CMC). Collectively, Jaunt produces branded and original VR content for audiences worldwide. Join @JauntVR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Jaunt’s investors include The Walt Disney Company, Evolution Media Partners, China Media Capital, Highland Capital Partners, Google Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Axel Springer, ProSiebenSat.1 SE, The Madison Square Garden Company, and Sky (corporate.sky.com). Experience more at www.jauntvr.com.

© Scoop Media