United in world’s first 3D match

Sunday’s Premier League football match between Manchester United and Arsenal will be the world’s first live 3D TV sports broadcast, Sky said today.

Football fans at nine pubs in Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Dublin and London, will don special glasses to become the first audiences anywhere in the world to watch live 3D sport.

The top–of–the–table clash at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium will be the public’s first taste of live 3D football ahead of Sky’s dedicated 3D channel launching in April.

As the number of 3D TVs arriving in the UK increases, Sky promises to broadcast a weekly 3D Premier League game to hundreds more pubs this spring. And in the home, its 1.6 million Sky+HD customers will be able to watch the 3D channel at no extra charge.

On Sunday Sky will transmit two live feeds — one to its traditional Sky Sports customers and another in 3D. Two separate commentary teams, two camera crews and two production teams will produce the simultaneous broadcasts. Sky has been developing its 3D system for two years and its team even travelled to America to visit the pioneer of modern 3D cinema, Avatar director James Cameron.