While I still personally think that 3D TV at home won’t be big in 2010, that’s not stopping some big network providers from getting behind it. It’s only the 5th of January, and we’ve already got a trio of big announcements.
First off, DirecTV claims they’ll be launching a single 3D TV channel with their newest satellite, using some of that yummy bandwidth to bring 3D sports and movies direct to your home. Then, ESPN comes out with something similar, claiming they’ll be launching a 3D network in June. Their kickoff event will be a big one too, the 2010 Soccer World Cup match. Finally, not to be out-done, Discovery, IMax, and Sony have signed up to be equal partners in a new TV channel dedicated to 3D programming, but the kickoff won’t be until 2011.
While the press is good, is 3 channels really enough to bring 3D to mainstream? If you look closely you’ll see a single theme: Sports. While sports is big, I’m still not convinced it’s enough to make 3D big in 2010. In 2012 maybe, after a few years of working out the kinks and getting some better (cheaper) hardware options, but not 2010.
