ESPN to broadcast World Cup matches in 3D

Sports broadcaster ESPN is to bring a new dimension to its coverage of the World Cup this summer - by broadcasting games in 3D. The Disney-owned network made the announcement at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, where new televisions with 3D capabilities are on display.
 
ESPN 3D hopes to take its bow on June 11 this year - the opening day of the World Cup - and its inaugural broadcast will be the first game of the tournament, South Africa v Mexico. It plans to broadcast a further 85 sporting events in 3D during the network's first year. They include 25 World Cup games, US college basketball and American football matches, NBA games and events from the Summer X Games, the extreme sports festival.
 
However, not everyone will be able to enjoy the action in 3D. Only people with 3D-capable TVs will receive the broadcasts, and in addition they will have to don a pair of special glasses, not unlike those currently being given out in cinemas to Avatar audiences. Also, it has yet to be decided which channels will broadcast the games. ESPN says it expects deals with distributors will be in place before the summer.
 
Moving into 3D has proved to be an expensive business for ESPN, which has spent more than two years on the project. To cover an event in 3D, cameras need to be located in different positions than for normal broadcasts and, if it plans to simultaneously show events in HD, ESPN would need to employ a second production crew and different announcers.
 
In an experiment last year, when ESPN covered an American college football game in 3D, most viewers attending cinema screenings in Ohio, Texas and Connecticut were "wowed" by the result, although some noted that the camera movement could be "hard on the eyes".

Manufacturers like Sony, Samsung and Panasonic have all announced plans to sell 3D TVs to consumers in 2010. Only around 1 million sets were sold last year but that figure is expected to rise to 9 million by 2012. ·