Ticket App Has 360-Degree, Panoramic Photo View from Seats

The ticket resale marketplace app Rukkus released its latest iPhone iteration today (Android and web are also coming soon), and it includes a function of panoramic 360° seat views. You can see how that all works – kind of similarly to Google Maps – in the video above.

As Recode noted in March, the difference between this and StubHub, which uses virtual reality renderings, is the “immersive” photography.

The app update was coded by Rob Wyant, who, in full disclosure, is a longtime friend of mine. “The photography is really what sets the Seat360 feature apart from anything else on the market,” he says. “Forever, VR has been associated with computer generated images that makes the viewing experience a bit cartoony.”

So far, the photography feature is available in every NBA and NHL arena. You can currently use it for less than one-third of MLB stadiums, but they expect to have baseball completed by the end of May. One thing that could be a challenge for them is to keep up with renovation to arenas and stadiums, and how they impact views. While most of these take place publicly, if you multiply every professional stadium by every seat it’s a lot to keep track of.

One other interesting function in the app is that customers are able to easily send tickets between friends, almost like a Venmo transfer. It will be interesting for me, from the perspective of a friend, consumer, and someone who covers sports at-large, to see how much attention Rukkus gets from fans and media going forward.