First service for BBC Wimbledon 3D
June 8, 2011
By Colin Mann
The BBC is to broadcast live 3D coverage to homes across the UK for the first time, when it broadcasts the Men’s and Ladies’ Finals of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships via the BBC’s HD Channel. The initiative marks the BBC’s first ever 3D broadcast.
The free-to-air broadcast of the Championships in 3D will be available to anyone who has access to a 3D TV set and to HD Channels, regardless of which digital TV provider they use.
The live 3D coverage of the ladies’ and men’s finals on Saturday 2nd July and Sunday 3rd July will mark the 125th anniversary of the Wimbledon Championships.
The BBC’s coverage is being provided in partnership with the AELTC and Sony Professional. It will also be available in a limited number of cinemas across the UK and the BBC is offering a small number of 3D screenings which will be free to members of the public via www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/.
This is one of a small number of 3DTV editorial experiments the BBC is currently undertaking, on behalf of licence payers.
Coverage of the Championship Finals will also be available in Standard Definition (SD) on BBC One and in High Definition (HD) on BBC One HD.
Paul Davies, BBC Executive Producer Sport noted that in 75 years of televising the Wimbledon Championships, the BBC had continually broken new ground in broadcasting techniques. “This unique 3D transmission is the latest innovation to bring to life all the tension, drama and excitement on one of the most iconic sporting arenas in the world,” he said . George Entwistle, Director of BBC Vision, said the 3D coverage was a hugely important experiment for the Corporation.