ESPN will unveil a new 3-D network this spring that will showcase a minimum of 85 live sporting events during its first year, the Bristol sports programmer announced today.
The first event featured in 3-D will be the inaugural 2010 FIFA World Cup match between South Africa and Mexico on June 11, ESPN said.
3-D technology has emerged as a big hit with viewers of movies such as “Beowulf,” “The Polar Express,” and “Avatar.”
Other events tentatively scheduled to be produced in 3-D include the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, and other college basketball and football games, the network said.
Details on how the new network can be purchased and/or viewed were not immediately available.
George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports, both units of Walt Disney Co., said ESPN has been testing 3-D for more than two years and last fall produced the college football game between University of Southern California and Ohio State University in select theaters and on the USC campus.
