Comcast 3D Channels

Comcast 3D channels are on the way, you can count on it. Comcast has a lot to gain from having their own 3D channels and a lot to loose by not having one. Already 3D channels have been announced for the US market by ESPN (ESPN 3D),Discovery (Discovery 3D) and three 3D channels by DIRECTV. All of these new 3D channels were announced on Jan. 5/6 2010 at CES, and are the first 3D channels ever announced for the US TV market. You have to wonder if maybe somehow Comcast was caught off guard that they all announced, or that maybe they are trying a different tact and think they will gain more attention by announcing separately.

Comcast simply has to much to loose by not having a 3D channel as on the cable provider side they could quickly begin loosing customers to DIRECTV and their three new 3D channels. In addition one of the reasons that Comcast is buying NBC is because they have plans of becoming a worthy competitor in the sports programming market to ESPN, and with sports expected to be one of the primary lures of the costumer to 3D TV Comcast simply can't fall behind ESPN 3D. In fact Comcast could become hard pressed to maintain their broadcasting contracts for certain sports teams without being able to broadcast their games on a 3D channel.  So the question is simply when not if Comcast will have a 3D channel.

There has been a lot of partnering between corporations on the creation of 3D channels such as the number of companies that will be working with DIRECTV to provide 3D content including CBS,NBC, and Turner, in addition Panasonic is providing advertising and technical support. The Discovery 3D channel is also an equal partnership between Sony,IMAX, and Discovery with each offering different expertise to make it a success. One thing that has been missing is that Comcast is not a partner and has not been mentioned at all in any of the 3D channels created, so are they going it alone like ESPN 3D or will they have a partner. It would be the best guess that they will have a partner at the very least an electronics manufacturer such as LG or Vizio to provide technical and advertising support.  Look for LG to be a strong possibility as they have already partnered in Korea and have stated they are looking to do so across the globe, also consider the dark hoarse Vizio. Vizio was founded in 2002 and is headquartered out of California and is the fastest growing HDTV manufacturer in the US and had the most LCD TV sales in the US.

Comcast was very aware of the newly announced 3D channels at CES 2010, watch the clip of Comcast CEO Brian L. Roberts discussing 3D TV below.

3D Channels Who's Next

Their was a mini flurry of 3D Channel announcements at CES 2010 including ESPN 3D, Discovery 3D, and three DIRECTV 3D Channels that join the already announced Sky 3D channel in Europe. You might be asking yourself who is the next corporation that will announce a 3D TV channel, well in order to get your answer it might look to see who were the first to announce HD TV channels. Both Discovery and Sky were the first to launch HD channels in the US and Europe respectively and ESPN had the first sports HD TV channel.

The guess is that you actually won't see that many more 3D channels announced in the short term as it seems that the other likely candidates for an early entry with a 3D channel will first test 3D TV by providing content to the three DIRECTV 3D channels. Contributers to the DIRECTV 3D channels include Fox Sports, NBC,CBS,HDnet, and Turner broadcasting. Also keep in mind that while ABC isn't on that list they own EPSN and that is likely their 3D TV testing grounds for all of their TV divisions for now, likewise the same is true for Discovery and their other 16 TV channels.

The one company that you should probably be waiting eagerly for a 3D channel anouncement from is Comcast, but keep in mind they are purchasing NBC so they might be waiting for that deal to go through. Comcast like DIRECTV needs to establish themselves early in the 3D market as they could in fact loose customers to DIRECTV if they don't. In addition Comcast has huge goals of being a truly competitive rival to ESPN and there will be no other way of doing that without getting on the 3D TV bandwagon sooner rather than later.

Boxing 3D TV Pay Per View: Golden Boy Promotions

Can boxing 3D TV Pay Per View help bring boxing back to the American main stage? One of the interesting points in the DIRECTV 3D channels announcement is that they will be partnering with boxing promoter Golden Boy Promotions (owned by boxing star Oscar De La Hoya) to provide presumably 3D boxing content for the new DIRECTV 3D Pay Per View channel. In addition BSkyB which announced the first 3D TV channel in Europe has already taped a 3D boxing bout between Ricky Hatton vs Juan Lazcano as one of their very first trials with 3D sports footage.

Boxing is already riding a small wave in new popularity as the sport finally has a new star that captures the imagination of the American population in Manny Pacquiao. Speaking of Pacquiao at some point their should be a Pacquiao - Mayweather mega fight and Golden Boy Promotions represents Mayweather so that could be a huge launching point for 3D boxing. For those of you that have not kept on boxing this bought is one of the most anticipated fights in a decade,the two fighters originally reached an agreement however negotiations have since broken down.

Can you imagine watching boxing on a 3D TV with the punches seeming to come right at you off the screen? From our point of view this seems like an excellent way for boxing to capture a new younger generation of viewers, as it should make for a highly entertaining and exhilarating viewing experience during quality fights. It also would seem that boxing is better suited for viewing in 3D than MMA/UFC so this could be a way that they can win back and gain additional fans.

It is thought that sports will be one of the primary uses of 3D TV capabilities, with ESPN 3D being one of the first 3D TV channels to launch. Boxing seems like a great fit for 3D TV, however to us baseball doesn't seem like a great fit. It will be interesting to see if some sports such as boxing and maybe lacrosse gain in popularity through 3D TV.

DIRECTV 3D Channels

DIRECTV announced three channels entirely dedicated to 3D TV content on Jan. 6, 2010 one day after the first ever 3D TV channels were introduced, the ESPN 3D and Discovery 3D channels. The announcement coincided with the announcement of the first commercially available 3D TVs from Sony,Toshiba,Samsung,Vizio,LG, and Panasonic which they all announced at CES 2010. Panasonic has signed on to be the full advertising partner for the 3D channels for one year. In contrast Sony is a full one third partner in the Discovery 3D channel with partners Discovery Communications and IMAX. LG has also partnered with Skylife a Korean satellite provider in on developing new 3D standards and content.

The three DIRECTV 3D channels will be available to millions of DIRECTV subscribers after subscribers install a free software upgrade. The 3D TV channels DIRECTV will have to start with include a 24/7 channel that will be Pay Per View focused on movies and documentaries,a 24/7 on demand channel, and a 3D sampler channel featuring content such as sports and music. The content for the channels will be provided by AEG/AEG Digital Media,CBS,Fox Sports,Golden Boy Promotions,HDNet,NBC,and Turner Broadcasting. This is an interestingly large alliance of possible providers of 3D TV content, and it will likely be the 3D TV testing grounds for these media outlets. Panasonic will also be providing technical assistance for the production of 3D TV including Full HD 3D camcorders, so it will be interesting what advantage that gives these media companies in getting started. In contrast ESPN 3D so far is the only 3D channel that has not aligned itself with a TV electronics company.

From the way the DIRECTV 3D channels are setup it looks like the biggest question, and most anticipated initial content will be if the Pay Per View channel will be airing Avatar. With the number of 3D movies expected to hit theaters in 2010 the channel should have a lot of quality content soon enough to help convert people to 3D TV.