Movies centre stage for Europe's first 3D channel

By
Richard Baxter

October 15, 2010

BSkyB launched Europe's first dedicated 3D channel in UK on 1 October 2010. Sky 3D is available at no extra cost to Sky HD customers subscribing to its top-tier package. Key sporting events, such as football matches from the Barclays Premier League, will be broadcast live. Arts and documentary 3D content will also be available, as well as a number of feature films including:

on 1 October 2010: Fox's Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
in January 2011: Disney's Toy Story 1 and 2
at unconfirmed dates: Disney's Alice in Wonderland and Bolt, DreamWorks Animation's Monsters vs Aliens, Lionsgate's My Bloody Valentine, Sony's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Studio Canal's Fly Me to the Moon and Universal's Coraline

Plus on pay-per-view (PPV)

in January 2011: Disney's Toy Story 3
at unconfirmed dates: UK Vertigo Films' StreetDance 3D, Fox's Garfield Pet Force
Disney's Step Up 3D and A Christmas Carol

Meanwhile, Virgin Media launched the UK's first 3D pay-per-view PPV service, 3D Movies on Demand, on 28 September 2010.

Like exclusive bundling deals with 3D hardware manufacturers, broadcast offers a concrete revenue stream for studio 3D titles following their theatrical release. This is important, given the small number of 3D BD enabled households (ie, homes with a 3D TV connected to a 3D BD player or PS3 and the required 3D glasses), which means studios cannot yet make money selling titles on 3D BD at retail. Although Sky has yet to confirm scheduling for most of the films on its slate, Ice Age 3 will be available on Sky 3D before its retail 3D BD release, although it is currently bundled with Panasonic 3D hardware. It is possible that a similar situation may occur for films such as Alice, Bolt or My Bloody Valentine, which have already been released on 2D BD and broadcast in 2D. The availability of strong 3D movies will drive adoption of 3D TVs and Sky's HD service. However, it may negatively impact on early 3D BD adoption by further reducing the pool of titles available exclusively on 3D BD.

Tags:

Countries: UK
Companies: BSkyB Virgin Media Fox Disney DreamWorks Animation Lionsgate Sony Universal Studio Canal Vertigo Films