The number of sporting events presented in 3D is on the rise.
Last Thursday night, the NFL Network delivered a 3D version of its Raiders/Chargers telecast to theaters in New York, Los Angeles and Boston. Reviews were generally positive; the Boston Globe described the broadcast as being so clear that when “the graphics came up on the screen, you felt as if you could reach out and pluck them off with your fingers.”
More 3D presentations are on the way. FOX will air the BCS National Championship Game in 3D, again in New York, L.A. and Boston, while the NBA and TNT will present NBA All Star Saturday night in 3D in 80 theaters across 35 states.
The recent spate of high profile 3D sports telecasts is the continuation of an ongoing trend. In 2004, segments of the Super Bowl were filmed in 3D. In 2007, the NBA aired All Star Game festivities in 3D to a private viewing party, marking the first such presentation of a live sporting event. Game 2 of the 2007 NBA Finals was presented in 3D in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, making the first public viewing of a 3D sporting event. In March 2008, a Clippers/Mavericks game was broadcast in 3D at the Landmark Theater in Dallas, making it the first 3D sports broadcast in a motion picture theater.
What does the future hold for 3D sports broadcasts? Plans are in the works for a 3D presentation of the 2010 Super Bowl. FOX Sports Chair David Hill said in a interview earlier this year that “[3D is] going to be incredible. … I’ve seen boxing on 3D. It’s the thing that is going to save boxing.” NBA vice president of engineering Mike Rokosa told Reuters that the league is looking towards the future of 3D. Rokosa: “It’s a theatrical display technology today. Tomorrow, it’s going to be in the home.”
