PRESS RELEASE
Sky 3D will be carrying Eurosport's live 3D coverage of the 2012 French Open this summer.
The announcement comes ahead of a major weekend of live 3D sport on Sky 3D this weekend, including the much-anticipated UEFA Champions League Final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich and Rugby's Heineken Cup Finalbetween Ulster and Leinster. Additionally, Soccer AM will be broadcast in 3D for the first time this Saturday. The following weekend (May 26th/ 27th) will feature live 3D coverage of the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final, in partnership with ESPN and England vs. Barbarians from Twickenham and live Boxing, with Carl Froch taking on Lucian Bute for the IBF world super-middleweight title.
Live 3D coverage of the French Open will follow from the 28th May, and builds on a recent announcement that Eurosport will also be showcasing its comprehensive 3D coverage of the London 2012 Olympics on Sky 3D. During the games, Sky 3D will be showing more than 100 hours of Eurosport's 3D action from the Games, including the men's 100m final as well as a wide range of other events that will be broadcast in 3D for the first time, including gymnastics, swimming, basketball and canoeing. Around 8 hours of live coverage will be broadcast every day, alongside 4 additional hours of the day's main highlights, providing the most comprehensive 3D coverage of the Olympics on British television.
Eurosport's coverage of the French Open and Olympics both contribute to a biggest ever summer of sport on Sky 3D, which is now enjoyed in over a quarter of a million Sky homes and is available in pubs nationwide.
Other 3D highlights during the summer include:
- One Day International Cricket between England and Australia
- Rugby Super League
- The return of the Premier League
Sky 3D is available free of charge to Sky customers with the Sky World package, the HD pack and a 3D TV, and will be opened up to all HD subscribers during the Olympic, so that for the first time more than 4 million homes will have the opportunity to experience the first 3D Olympics. To enjoy the Olympic action, all customers will need to do is purchase a 3D TV and then connect it to their 3D-ready Sky+ HD box.
About Sky 3D
Sky launched Sky 3D, Europe's first domestic 3D channel to millions of Sky homes on Friday 1 October 2010 with an diverse line-up of movies, documentaries, live sport and further content spanning entertainment and the arts. Sports covered to date include football, rugby union, The Masters, Horse of the Year and darts; while partnerships with Discovery and National Geographic have resulted in meerkats, elephants and kite surfers featuring on the channel. Entertainment on the channel has included Kylie Minogue, Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake and David Attenborough's BAFTA winning Flying Monsters.
All Sky+HD viewers with a 3D TV are able to receive Sky 3D, as no set-top box upgrade is required. At no extra charge, customers who subscribe to Sky's top channel and HD pack can receive access to a wide range of 3D movies, entertainment and sports. Sky 3D is compatible with all of the 3D TVs being introduced by Sony, Samsung, LG and Panasonic and works with both ‘active' and ‘passive' 3D formats. Sky 3D is now available in more than 2,000 pubs and clubs across the UK and Ireland following the world's first commercial launch in April 2010.
