3-D TV coming soon to your living room

espn_3d_camera.top.jpgESPN and Discovery will be using 3-D cameras like this one to broadcast in three dimensions.By David Goldman, staff writer


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Brace yourself! 3-D entertainment is coming to a television set near you.

Both ESPN and Discovery Communications announced Tuesday that they will launch 3-D TV networks. ESPN will start airing its 3-D sports network in June, while Discovery Communications did not specify when it would begin airing 3-D content.

3-D entertainment has been gaining in popularity, most notably with the release of the 3-D film "Avatar," showing in theaters now.

ESPN's new network, to be named ESPN 3D, will air at least 85 live sporting events in its first year. The first 3-D event will be the FIFA World Cup between South Africa and Mexico on June 11.

"ESPN's commitment to 3-D is a win for fans and our business partners," the sports network said in a statement. "ESPN 3D marries great content with new technology to enhance the fan's viewing experience and puts ESPN at the forefront of the next big advance for TV viewing."

The sports network said it has had "productive discussions" with cable and satellite affiliates, and it believes many will sign on.

Demand for more realistic sports programming was one of the main motivators for affiliates to offer high definition broadcasting and for consumers to buy HD TV sets. Likewise, ESPN believes that there is the same type of strong demand for 3-D sports entertainment.

To view the 3-D channels, customers will have to buy a special 3D-HDTV set, which are currently available from most manufacturers. Discovery said it hopes that its network drives consumer adoption of 3-D televisions.

Although ESPN 3D will only air during specific live events, Discovery's new channel will be the nation's first 24/7 3-D network.

Discovery Communications, which owns the Discovery Channel and TLC among other cable channels, partnered with Sony and IMAX to develop the new 3-D station.

"By partnering with Sony and IMAX on 3-D, Discovery will lead the way in revolutionizing the next-generation home viewing experience in the U.S. and around the world," said Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav in a statement.

The 3-D Discovery network will show natural history, space, science and technology programming as well as movies. Discovery will provide the content, Sony will advertise and license 3-D films, and IMAX will license movies and the technology for the venture. To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Sponsors

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.