Eurosport is beginning to shape its 3-D strategy and determine what it needs to do technically to bring 3-D sports to audiences throughout Europe. The European sports broadcaster already has experimented with 3-D coverage of sporting events such as the French Open (tennis) in Paris. The IBC E-DAILY spoke with Francois Schmitt, Eurosport’s deputy managing director, broadcasting and technical operations, to talk about the broadcaster’s early forays into 3-D.
 

Schmitt: We are taking our first steps with 3-D, and we believe that this technology may progress even quicker than HD. We have tested 3-D technology and the results are incredibly promising. In May, we broadcast the French Open at Roland Garros in partnership with Panasonic and Eutelsat. It was really beneficial for us to work on that first project. We demonstrated we were able to produce a quality 3-D signal across Europe on a multi-day basis.
 

Schmitt: Even though this 3-D trial was positive, we still need to see how relevant 3-D will be for the viewer. Viewer behavior will take time to develop. We also need to understand the added value that 3-D can give to each different sport. We are learning from our experiences, which include 3-D coverage of events such as the FIFA World Cup and the tennis French and U.S. Opens. We see that 3-D is not relevant in all sports. It could take three to five years for this particular market to completely mature. But we know that it t is important for Eurosport to be in the market.

Schmitt: We have been working on side-by-side transmission. 3-D transmission requires around 30 percent more capacity compared to HD. You have to take into account the fact you are transmitting two images simultaneously, which evidently requires more bandwidth to deliver the image to the end user. Capacity is crucial when broadcasting these events in 3-D.
 

Schmitt: As of today, we will not immediately launch a 24/7 channel in 3-D. We are most likely going to continue to propose our 3-D service on an event-by-event basis around major events such as Grand Slam tennis or motorsports. We will do this for a variety of other events until we clearly understand how 3-D is received across a spectrum of sports. Our 3-D offer will also depend on both operators and viewers expectations as well as the evolution of the 3-D market in general. As with any new technology, time to market is essential.

Schmitt: For platforms like BSkyB and Sky Deutschland, it is important for them to have their own 3-D channel to be at the cutting-edge of technology, but at the same time, operators need to offer their subscribers a choice of channels. To maintain subscriber loyalty and increase overall value, it is crucial to look at ways to enhance the bouquet, therefore pay-TV operators could be very interested in carrying Eurosport’s 3-D service.
 

Schmitt: We are working on three platforms — TV, Internet and mobile. Our strategy has always been to make our content available on all of the different devices and using the different modes of distribution. We have been working for three years on a Eurosport Player, which is available on the PC and now on the iPhone. The Eurosport Player offers two different Eurosport channels, and one is a VOD channel. The Player service is available in 58 different countries in Europe. We also have an iPhone and iPad offer, and Eurosport’s apps regularly top the download charts across Europe and beyond. We are also looking at connected TV. We are working on several exciting projects with the aim of delivering our content across all devices.