ESPN has latched onto the 3D craze in announcing the June launch of ESPN 3D, claimed by parent company Disney to be the first 3D network that will hit the airwaves.
The announcement shoehorns perfectly with previous comments made by FIFA that the 2010 World Cup would be filmed in 3D. As fate would have it, the first broadcast 3D event on ESPN 3D will be a June 11 World Cup soccer match between South Africa and Mexico.
A total of 85 live sporting events in 3D are planned for the network’s first year. They include up to 25 World Cup soccer matches, college basketball and football games, the Summer X Games, other extreme sports, and the BCS National Championship game in Glendale, Arizona, on January 10, 2011. No mention was made on whether ESPN’s coverage of Monday Night Football would receive the 3D treatment.
ESPN has been testing 3D for more than 2 years in preparation for the launch of ESPN 3D. How many households and cable/satellite providers will have access to the channel for its June launch is not yet known.
