[Satellite TODAY Insider 05-24-11] Broadcasters see 3-D TV as a low priority. This is one of the key findings of new research released by U.K. research company, Ovum. In its research analyzing the state of the 3-D market, Ovum says there is a “clear lack of enthusiasm for 3-D TV in the broadcast industry.”

Senior IT and business executives questioned for the report rated “production of 3-D content and/or launch of 3-D channels” as the lowest priority for strategic investment. 53 percent of respondents said 3-D content production was “not an important business consideration,” the highest figure of all 11 investment areas. Meanwhile, no broadcasters in Europe or North America viewed 3-D as a “critical investment area.”

            The 3-D TV market really started to blossom in 2010 with major announcements from the likes of ESPN, DirecTV, Discovery and BSkyB among others. DTH operators have led the way in bringing 3-D TV content and channels onto platforms, and for satellite operators 3-D TV has been seen as a major new growth opportunity. However, it may seem that the wave of enthusiasm that greeted these announcements early last year is now turning into a more pragmatic reality, with broadcasters generally being more circumspect in their approach to 3-D TV.

“This ambivalence towards investment in 3-D content production and creation of 3-D channels, particularly for North American broadcasters, leaves a big hole in the availability of 3-D content, and tells us that the lack of 3-D programming we have seen during 2010 is unlikely to improve in 2011. This leaves a heavy burden on packaged content, such as Blu-Ray DVDs, and streaming content as the primary source of 3-D content for consumers who have purchased or intend to purchase 3-D TVs,” says Tim Renowden, Ovum analyst and author of the report.

            David McGlade, CEO, Intelsat is optimistic about the long-term future of 3-D TV, although he admits that it will take time for it to be adopted. He told Via Satellite recently, “There are three things that still have to happen. You have those active glasses, the passive glasses or ultimately no glasses at all. To get the best adoption, you will need a high-quality product with no glasses, but that is many years away. I know LG has just come out with a very good plasma TV that you can view with passive glasses. But, prices will have to go down. For some people, it will always cause sickness. It won’t be for everybody, but it should improve, and the costs to do programming should also improve so there can be more content to be consumed, and this will ultimately drive television set sales and penetration. I do believe in 3-D, but it will take time for it to be adopted. It depends on the economy and the replacement cycle of other televisions.”

            In other TV based research published recently, ABI Research revealed that 11.3 million pay-TV subscribers were added in the first three months of this year. ABI Research is forecasting that by the end of 2011, there will be more than 759 million pay-TV subscribers globally.

ABI’s Research says cable TV still maintains the largest market share; however, its relative share of subscriptions dropped from 72 percent in 2009 to 69 percent in 2010. It says cable TV operators in Western Europe and North America in particular faced subscriber losses in 2010 as new television services, such as telco TV and online TV, replaced traditional cable TV services.