Digital TV News

Sky kicks off 3D TV with Man Utd vs Chelsea

Friday 19 March, 2010

By Becca Talbot - becca@consumerchoices.co.uk

Satellite TV giant Sky plans to launch Europe’s first 3D TV channel in April, kicking off with the Premier League clash between Manchester United and Chelsea.

Following on from the success of its first 3D TV broadcast of a match between Man Utd and Arsenal, Sky is pushing on with its plans to launch Europe’s first dedicated 3D TV channel on 3 April.

After the initial 3D match on 3 April, Sky (www.sky.co.uk) will show at least five more live Premier League games in 3D before the end of the current season on Sunday 9th May, as well as games from the Coca-Cola Football League Play-Off Finals from Wembley Stadium at the end of May.

Hundreds of thousands of fans will be able to watch live 3D Premier League matches this season, with over a thousand pubs and clubs around the UK having already signed up for Sky 3D.

Brian Lenz, Sky’s director of product design and TV product development, said: “With 3D, seeing really is believing, so it’s great news that over a thousand pubs across country will be able to show the magic of 3D to their customers.”

The channel, which will launch in pubs and clubs on Saturday 3 April, will eventually show a variety of programmes in 3D and will be available to homes with a 3D ready TV, a Sky+HD set-top box and a subscription to the HD channels pack at no extra cost.

Outside of the live games, a showreel showcasing the best of Sky 3D, covering a wide range of different programming, will run on Sky 3D during selected hours of the day.