Rugby World Cup may be in 3-D, but not in NZ

Reuters

Football fans wear 3D glasses as they watch a live 3D TV football match between Arsenal and Manchester United, in a pub in London. Similar 3D coverage could be available for the Rugby World Cup, but probably only in Briton.

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The 2011 Rugby World Cup may be broadcast in 3-D, but if so, it will probably only be television viewers in Britain who will be able to watch.

Tournament director Kit McConnell says the International Rugby Board's (IRB) contract with host broadcaster Sky Television does not provide for 3-D coverage.

But the IRB has yet to sign a contract with a broadcaster in Britain, which would probably bring its own cameras and might be interested in filming matches in 3-D. "I imagine that as we move to do that in the coming months, this will be part of that conversation."

Brett O'Riley, chief executive of New Zealand's Information and Communications Technology Association, says a 2-D-only World Cup would be a missed opportunity to promote Kiwi innovation. "At the very minimum, why couldn't the final be screened in 3-D and broadcast through Imax theatres?

"We have established ourselves as a global leader in terms of 3-D capability. With this amount of time and the resources that exist in New Zealand, why wouldn't we be looking to be the first country in the world that runs a 3-D world event?"

Sky's British sister company, BSkyB, has been priming interest in 3-D television. It started to broadcast Premier League football matches in 3-D last month, with free showings in pubs, and will launch a dedicated 3-D sports channel in April.

Televisions capable of showing programmes in 3-D are due to go on sale in New Zealand later this year. The number of cinemas that could show broadcasts in 3-D is also expected to grow as a result of the box-office success of hit movie Avatar. Some cinema operators have expressed interest in screening matches from the Rugby World Cup.

Mr McConnell notes that FIFA doesn't appear to plan to broadcast this year's Football World Cup in 3-D, but says the IRB is "keeping an eye on all of these developments".

"The Rugby World Cup is the absolute showcase of our sport, and therefore it needs to be represented in the best way possible."

He says the IRB's view is that 3-D television is not yet a proven technology, and filming matches in 3-D would come with "cost and complexities", but it could not discount the possibility, because technology moved quickly. "Anything we did would have to be on top of our agreement with Sky."

Kiwi rugby fans should not feel there was a risk of them being short changed, he says. "Sky is an outstanding broadcaster and the New Zealand public are going to get better coverage than they have ever had of rugby."

Sky Television spokesman Tony O'Brien says Sky has completed all its negotiations with the IRB, which has not requested any 3-D coverage.

Matches would be filmed using 22 cameras that could capture footage in both high and standard definition.

Filming matches in 3-D would require an extra eight cameras. But cameras that could capture footage in 3-D, HD and SD would be required before Sky could broadcast games solely in 3-D with all the angles viewers were used to.

"That is why we believe it is some years away. What you have got to get is a balance of content, availability and demand and with 3-D infrastructure."

Consumers have invested heavily in HD televisions in the past two or three years, which they probably expected to keep for 10 years, he says.

"One of the biggest hurdles here is the consumer", but 3-D broadcasts could require eight times the satellite bandwidth and there were divisions over technical standards.

BSkyB is in a different position to Sky, Mr O'Brien says, because it has a subscriber base of more than 10 million customers.

On Site Broadcasting, a company that has the contract to shoot sports events for Sky until 2016, spent $40m on four trucks that are capable of relaying pictures in HD.

It took delivery of the first less than two years ago.

Mr McConnell says the IRB would need to consider whether there would be enough space in stadiums for the extra equipment that would be required if its British broadcasting rights-holder did want to film in 3-D.

"It would require additional cameras and possibly broadcast vans, and those are the kind of things we would have to look at."

- © Fairfax NZ News