[Satellite News 08-13-09] BSkyB’s decision to launch a 3-D channel in the U.K. next year, announced Aug. 3, was motivated by the company’s belief that the 3D medium could become a commercial reality much quicker than expected due to low costs and the fact that the company is in the position to leverage its existing capacity and infrastructure, Gerry     O’Sullivan, Sky’s director of strategic product development and leader of the company’s 3D initiative told Satellite News.
“Satellite as a platform is ideal for 3-D. Some platforms have problems delivering a wide range of HD channels. Sky+HD is continuing to launch more and more HD channels and we’re already at 34. We are using the same bandwidth for 3D as that used for a typical Sky Sports HD broadcast,” he said.
    The attraction to 3-D HD goes beyond capacity for the broadcaster. O’Sullivan said the retail of 3D-enabled TVs may not be as high as the market expects, and if true, could be a key driver for 3-D TV. He expects this market to heat up and confirmed that the company is already receiving pre-production models from TV manufacturers in the U.K. “What is the difference between a high quality HD flatscreen today, and a 3D variant of that? The difference is minimal. You have the electronics and the difference there is minimal. They need to put a polarizing filter on the screen itself. So, what we are really talking about is something similar to what they are producing already. The real issue on pricing is volume. If the demand is there, prices will fall. To really look at that market, the flat screen market is very dominant. The manufacturers are looking for ways to differentiate themselves in a competitive market 3D is a way to do that,” he said.
    BskyB is not making a huge investment to launch a 3D channel as it is leveraging its existing HD infrastructure. O’Sullivan doubts the operator would have moved into the 3D world, if it had to start from scratch. “We have demonstrated that we don’t have to re-engineer everything in order to do this. We piggy back on our investment in HD. We deliver the experience using our existing Sky+HD infrastructure. We have been shooting things like the National Ballet in 3D. There is the content production, which we have been learning a lot about very quickly, and then its delivery over  our existing platform. We are in a mode where we can take a next step,” said O’Sullivan.
    BskyB’s 3-D HD operating costs, according to O’Sullivan, will be similar to its current HD business model – the company even plans to use the same set-top boxes it is using now. “The incremental costs of 3D production are relatively small. The only thing we are changing, is that we are still using HD cameras, but putting them in special rigs. We are using our existing engineering infrastructure. We haven’t had to do anything to our satellite or our headend. If 3D had to be delivered to the home by completely changing end-to-end our equipment, it would never have flown. The fact is, we are just reaping the rewards of the investment we have made in HD,” he said.
    Titus Yong, vice president of SingTel Satellite, which has been looking into the 3-D HD market via the movie industry, said it is still too early to judge on what the consumer behavior may be in the 3D market. “If you were to look two years ago, 3D was viewed as a bit of a science-fiction thing for television.  Since then things have moved on at speed and domestic 3D experiences are now a reality.  But let’s see what works and what doesn’t, as it is still very early days. I am confident that just as with HD, 3D will capture the imagination. Any successful broadcaster needs to keep evolving and reacting to customer demand. HD did have skeptics at launch, but 1.3 million customers and 34 channels later, no one doubts the value of HD any longer. 3D might not be for everybody. It might create different viewing behaviors, create different types of content that come through in this medium. We will have to wait and see,” he said.
    O’Sullivan, whose company is also exploring the 3D cinematic market, believes the 3D landscape could dramatically change over the next two years, particularly if it proves to be a hit in the movie theatre. “We are seeing a huge interest in 3D from cinemas, for example. We are hearing from Hollywood that certain directors such as James Cameron or Steven Spielberg really believe this is not a gimmick medium. This is something they want to produce their movies in. What we are seeing in box office receipts, is when people are going to see a 3D version of a movie, those receipts are going up by 20-30 percent.”

BSkyB to Launch 3-D Channel in 2010 [Satellite TODAY 08-03-09]
BSkyB Reports Record Full-Year Subscriber Growth – [Satellite TODAY 07-31-09]
GlobeCast Goes for 3D Opera – [Satellite TODAY 06-01-09]
Satellite 2009 CEO Panel Discusses Launch Costs, HDTV, ITAR [Satellite News 03-26-09]