German Soccer Jumps Off Page as Newspaper Pushes AR to Readers
Soccer fans can now watch videos of Germany’s top league matches by leafing through Europe’s biggest-selling daily newspaper.
Axel Springer SE’s Bild has embedded a feature that turns pictures in the paper into 30-second clips when readers hover over them with their smartphone.
Publishers from Canada to Japan have dabbled with augmented reality, but without much impact beyond introducing readers to a new gimmick. Conde Nast’s New Yorker and Meredith Corp.’s Time are among U.S. publications that have featured the technology. Axel Springer says its push is unique among European peers because it offers exclusive sports content to readers that have a copy of the paper at no additional cost.
The AR push, which the company plans to expand to areas beyond soccer, is meant to make Bild’s print edition more attractive for tech-savvy readers. It also shows that Axel Springer is unwilling to leave its most popular print product behind as it shifts to digital publishing.
See the full story here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-22/german-soccer-jumps-off-page-as-newspaper-pushes-ar-to-readers