Exclusive deals make 3D TV audience even smaller
By Marguerite Reardon
NEW YORK–Just having the latest and greatest 3D-enabled TV won’t guarantee you a virtual court-side seat this weekend when CBS Sports broadcasts the U.S. Open tennis tournament in 3D. You’ll also have to subscribe to DirecTV’s satellite TV service.
Avid sports fans can now feel like they’re part of the action in their own living rooms thanks to 3D TV broadcasts of live sporting events, such as the U.S. Open. But exclusive distribution deals limit who gets to see what.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Tennis Association, which hosts the U.S. Open and CBS Sports, which has broadcasting rights to the tournament on the two main weekends the tournament is happening, announced they’d be broadcasting the event in 3D on one of DirecTV’s dedicated 3D channels. [CBS is the parent company of CNET.]
The U.S. Open is the latest sporting event that is being shot using 3D cameras and broadcast in 3D. Other events, such as the Masters golf tournament, the NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament, Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby and All-Star game, and the Beijing and Vancouver Olympics, along with a few other events, have also been broadcast in 3D.
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