Fox Sports pips Channel Nine to first Australian 3D broadcast
The final home match pre-FIFA World Cup, the Socceroos vs. New Zealand on 24 May at the MCG, will be broadcast live in 3D on Fox Sports.
Fox Sports will claim bragging rights to the first Australian 3D broadcast with its live coverage of the Socceroos vs. New Zealand on 24 May from the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This nudges out of contention Channel Nine's 3D broadcast of the NRL State of Origin game in Sydney on 26 May by two days, though Nine's rugby league clash will still be the first free-to-air 3D offering.
While being first is nice kudos, the real drive to 3D will more likely come later through SBS's extensive coverage of FIFA World Cup starting in June. SBS has yet to post its complete 15-game 3D schedule, but it will kick things off strongly with the Socceroos opening match against Germany on 13 June confirmed for 3D coverage.
The 24 May game is the final pre-World Cup home match for the Socceroos and it will be available to Foxtel iQ2 and Austar MyStar HD subscribers on a specially set-up 3D channel called Fox Sports 3D (Channel 200).
The kicker, of course, is that viewers will need a 3D-capable television too, and at the time of writing the only model available on the market is the Samsung C7000. For those who do not yet have a shiny new 3D-capable TV, the coverage will also screen on Fox Sports 3HD (Channel 205) and Fox Sports 3 (Channel 503).