Cosm, a 5-year-old provider of production services for tech and media companies, is branching into physical venues.
The company announced Tuesday it will launch its first in-person site at LA’s Hollywood Park, home to SoFi Stadium and the also-soon-to-open Intuit Dome. With a capacity of 2,000, Cosm’s 65,000-square-foot venue is set to launch on June 29, hosting fans for a Saturday night of UFC fights beamed in from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. From stadium-style seats or standing vantage points, fans will be plunged into the action as it is beamed onto an 87-foot screen custom-fit to the surrounding domed structure. The screen (shown above in a rendering) is capable of displaying up to 12K resolution.
Cosm describes the experience inside the LA site, and another one lighting up soon in Dallas, as “shared reality,” a blend of visual media, entertainment and technology enhanced by the communal experience. If it all goes according to plan, the company says, “Fans will feel like they have the best seat in the house at the most sought-after events taking place from around the world.” Prior to the UFC event, the Hollywood Park location will host private events featuring the NHL and NBA playoffs.
A range of other programming will include Cirque du Soleil shows and exclusive immersive exhibitions from creators and artists from the company’s in-house creator program. Projects stemming from partnerships with major Hollywood studios are also in the works, though for now the company is keeping those details under wraps. The aim is to establish the sites as year-round destinations for both live events as well as less time-sensitive fare, with food and drinks available in indoor and outdoor spaces.
Sports will be the main draw at the start. Official partnerships are in place with ESPN, the NBA, NBC Sports, TNT Sports and UFC, which will bring soccer, college sports, NBA and NHL games, tennis, horse racing and more UFC fights to the complex.
Cosm CEO Jeb Terry is an entrepreneur and former VP at Fox Sports who played several years in the NFL as an offensive lineman with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers. In an interview with Deadline, he acknowledged that the NFL is not a launch partner of Cosm but the company has been in touch with the league in pursuit of a potential deal.
More broadly, Terry said the site’s objectives are not unlike those of Sphere in Las Vegas. That James Dolan-backed locale opened earlier this year as a bet on concertgoers’ appetite for a digital-age reinvention of live music. In an initial residency by U2, shows wrapped the band and surrounded the crowd with acres of ultra-high-resolution video. “We both want to go far beyond the usual way of experiencing entertainment in order to engage fans,” Terry said.
The company’s extensive experience in production, he said, will come into play as it operates physical spaces. “We program each venue like a TV network,” he said. “So, it’s not just the main events, it’s all of the shoulder programming and what you see as you move around the space.”
Cosm is backed by Dallas-based billionaire Steve Winn, who formed investment firm Mirasol Capital after founding retail management software firm RealPage.
Here’s another angle on the inside of the LA site:
