ESPN’s channel that showed sports in 3D will close by the end of 2013, Andrew Dodson reports.
“Due to limited viewer adoption of 3D services to the home, ESPN is discontinuing ESPN 3D,” the network said in a statement. “We are committing our 3D resources to other products and services that will better serve fans and affiliates. Nobody knows more about sports in 3D than ESPN, and we will be ready to provide the service to fans if or when 3D does take off.”
“[A]doption among cable providers was also mixed,” Chris Welch writes on The Verge. “Comcast, DirecTV, Verizon FiOS have all carried ESPN 3D at various points. AT&T, however, pulled the plug in 2011, claiming the high costs of carrying the channel were outweighed by low demand.”
ESPN Chief Technology Officer Chuck Pagano told Dodson: “I think 3D will evolve when you start seeing some of the TV sets that will be out there that do not have the eyeglass in front of them, but truly have a lenticular lens in front of the set that you can watch stuff without glasses.”
ESPN 3D’s schedule still promises a full slate of fully rounded events, so fans of such broadcasting will have time to reorient themselves to standard broadcasts.
