3D TV gets boost from ESPN announcement

Posted on 6 Jan 2010 at 12:09

ESPN - the US sports broadcaster - announced yesterday that it will start broadcasting in 3D from next year, giving the future of 3D TV a major boost. Broadcasts in 3D will start with the first match of the 2010 World Cup – South Africa vs Mexico on the 11th of June.

That game will be followed by 3D broadcasts of a further 25 World Cup games. The company will then show a minimum of 85 live 3D events – including NBA games – over the following year. It's impossible to say whether this is sufficient to tempt American TV subscribers into splashing out for a 3D TV, but ESPN were the key player in the launch and success of HD TV services in the US.

At present there's no plan to broadcast in 3D in the UK; but Sky's sharing of Premiership football rights with ESPN, and its own success with HD services, provides a hopeful outlook. You will of course need a 3D capable TV, which currently cost thousands of pounds, but we should see these prices slashed over the next few days as new models are launched at CES in Las Vegas.

We're not yet convinced by 3D TV, though, the technology is at its most effective when you're sitting square on to a screen that fills your field of vision – great in a cinema, but not as practical in the home. Still, it will appeal to die-hard home cinema fans, and if the technology can be cheaply incorporated into TVs then it may have a future for occasional use in the home.

Author: Seth Barton

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