Sky pulls 3D football coverage

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Sky appears to have delivered another blow to the future of 3D TV by quietly removing any Premier League football matches from its Sky 3D channel schedule for the 2014/15 season.

Sky's dedicated 3D channel had previously shown live sport, films and documentaries but it seems the company's flagship football content will no longer be available in 3D.

The Telegraph spotted the omission, noting the absence of any 3D football fixtures on Sky 3D's schedule for the rest of 2014.

A Sky spokesman told the Telegraph that the change was due to a "more selective" approach to 3D content: "We’re being more selective with what we choose to broadcast on Sky 3D, with a focus on movies and entertainment such as the Oscar-winning Gravity 3D and David Attenborough’s latest 3D documentary series coming up at Christmas."

Sky reaffirmed its committment to 3D TV last year, while also noting it was actively exploring the possibility of 4K broadcasts - something Sky has continued to do, right up to the FIFA World Cup this summer.

The BBC by contrast ended 3D broadcasts in July 2013, blaming a "lack of public appetite".

Sky no longer charges extra for access to the 3D channel and it seems the company no longer sees value in producing live 3D sport, the production of which is no small financial undertaking.

The Sky 3D page currently focuses on entertainment, sports and movies, with the sports section mentioning Premier League matches - but only advertising forthcoming content in the shape of boxing and F1.

Do you watch 3D content at home? Would you miss 3D Premier League football coverage? Let us know in the comments below.

(via Telegraph)

Joe Cox
Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).