ESPN to launch 3D TV network
Reuters - Tuesday 05 January 2010, 15:06
LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO - ESPN and Discovery
Communications Inc both unveiled plans on Tuesday to
launch 3-D television networks, reflecting a growing momentum
in the entertainment industry to usher 3-D into the home.
Walt Disney Co's ESPN will roll out its 3-D network
in June and will air a minimum of 85 live sporting events
during its first year. ESPN's first broadcast will be a World
Cup football match between South Africa and Mexico.
Separately, Discovery said it has joined ranks with Sony
Corp and IMAX Corp to launch a dedicated 3-D
network in the United States beginning in 2011.
The network
will feature natural history, space, exploration, and adventure
shows along with films and children's programming from all
three partners. Third parties may also provide entertainment.
Following the blockbuster success of 3-D epic "Avatar,"
many believe 3-D is poised to take over the home market and
many 3-D technologies will be on display at the annual Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.
"This will be a meaningful step to drive adoption of 3-D
television sets and afford opportunities for our affiliates to
create value through new product offerings, and our
advertisers, who want fresh sponsorship opportunities," Sean
Bratches, ESPN's executive vice president of sales and
marketing, said in a statement.
A lack of 3-D programming, in particular for sports, has
been one of the key barriers to adoption of 3-D TV, analysts
have said. Having to wear special glasses is another.
"The bottleneck has been content. What you are seeing is a
feeding frenzy suddenly emerging for in-home 3-D, which is a
step in the right direction," said Piper Jaffray analyst James
Marsh.
But he noted that while theatrical 3-D success provides a
beachhead for in-home solutions, the transition to widespread
in-home 3-D adoption may prove more complicated due to
challenges in convincing viewers it can be as enjoyable as
inside the cinema.
Price also will be an issue for consumers who may have just
recently upgraded their living rooms.
Richard Doherty, analyst with Envisioneering Group,
believes one household in 30 may embrace 3-D in-home technology
by New Year's 2011, and up to 20 percent by 2015.
"There's quite an effort among standards groups,
broadcasters, cable and satellite operators and consumer
electronics companies to get 3-D in the home quickly," he
said.
Sports, perhaps even more than movies, is a prime driver of
consumer sales for screen technology, including flat-screen
TVs.
Along with up to 25 World Cup matches, ESPN said 3-D would
be featured in broadcasts of the Summer X Games extreme sports,
college basketball and college football, including the BCS
National Championship game in Glendale, Arizona, on January 10,
2011.
ESPN has been testing 3-D for more than two years and last
fall produced the college football game between University of
Southern California and Ohio State University in select
theaters and on the USC campus.