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ESPN has confirmed it will cease broadcasting its 3D channel at the end of the year and will focus on new technologies such as 4K.
Rather than making an official announcement, the first news came in the form of a tweet from an ESPN employee this morning.
ESPN 3D was great at home but due to low adoption of 3D to home, we are discontinuing to focus on other products for fans and affiliates
— Katina Arnold (@KatinaESPN) June 12, 2013
ESPN has since confirmed to CNET the service will cease by the end of the year.
“Due to limited viewer adoption of 3D services to the home, ESPN is discontinuing ESPN 3D,” an ESPN spokesperson said.
However, the spokesperson added the company may provide 3D again if the future “if or when 3D does take off.”
At CES 2013, many manufacturers indicated they would be shifting focus to UHD (Ultra High Definition) from 2013 onward, but ESPN is the first high-profile content provider to announce so.
ESPN 3D began broadcasting in mid-2010 at the height of the 3D craze, but only a year later did it encounter its first casualty with AT&T’s U-verse dropping the channel, citing a lack of demand and high cost, according to Engadget.
ESPN dropping the channel could be a potential blow to Google Fiber customers, as it was only in March 2013 that Google announced that its customers could use ESPN 3D for an additional $5 a month.
Does this mean the end, as some are forecasting, or is this actually good for 3D? Did you ever watch sports in 3D? Let us know in the comments below.
Via Gizmodo
