Public Indifferent To 3D TV?

The decision by a French pay TV operator to axe its 3D channel after only 18 months is being hailed as another reflection that the world is not ready for 3D TV technology.
Canal Plus pulled the plug on the 3D channel after a slow consumer take up. It is understood the channel attracted only 20,000 subscribers despite considerable marketing.
Many are reporting that the move reflects a growing loss of momentum for 3D TV in Europe with public showing indifference toward 3D television.
In the UK, which has been leading Europe’s push for 3D TV, it is also argued that enthusiasm tapered off towards the end of 2011 following report by Informa Telecoms & Media, which indicated that 3D will still have failed to break out of its niche and become part of mainstream viewing by 2016.
Satellite provider BSkyB helped get 3D TV off to a strong start in the UK providing its 3D content free to its 3.7 million premium HD customers, almost 40% of its 10 million-customer base. BSkyB has been pushing 3D as the next big thing, and rival Virgin Media, the UK’s dominant cable TV operator with 4 million subscribers, has also been plugging 3D hard.
However 3D TV was limited by the poor choice of content, mostly confined to a scattering of sports events and a few movies meanwhile in the second half of 2011 advances in connected tv seemed to blow 3D out of the water.
Virgin Media, for example, realised it was gaining far more customers as a result of its Tivo box connecting TVs to web content than from 3-D, with the Informa survey predicting that, while, by 2016, one-third of UK households, or about 8 million, will have 3-D TV sets, only 42% of these will consume 3-D content regularly.
Part of the reason for the slower-than-expected take up of 3-D is realisation that the technology has some way to go to make 3-D viewing compelling for a broad range of content.
Outside the cinema, it is too early to say that consumers will latch onto 3D entertainment at home.
(LB)