Telekom Kicks Off Live 3D in Germany

With the opening game of the ice-hockey world cup in German town Gelsenkirchen on May 7, Deutsche Telekom will transmit the first live sports event in 3D from Germany for regular TV households.

“Deutsche Telekom plans to broadcast the three-dimensional images from this match on its IPTV platform Entertain,” marketing head Christian Illek told financial newspaper Handelsblatt.

Besides a subscription to sports package LIGA total!, viewers will need a 3D-TV set. They are now available in shops, but not many have found their way yet into consumers’ living rooms. The move, in which Telekom will collaborate – as with its live soccer Bundesliga footage – with production company Contantin Sport Medien, is therefore mainly meant to foster Telekom’s image.

“We want to show the technical capabilities of our platform,” said Illek. “In contrast to our competitors, 3D doesn’t just function as a test over here, but in practise.” Pay-TV operator Sky and commercial broadcaster Sat.1 captured live games of the Bundesliga and Champions League with 3D cameras recently and showcased them to a small audience as part of invitation-only events.

The German live 3D premiere will remain Entertain’s only 3D broadcast for the time being. Telekom says it only wants to carry out further 3D transmissions when compliant TV sets are more spread in consumer households.

By Jörn Krieger, Rapid TV News