NRL to trial three-dimensional broadcasts
CHRIS BARRETT
February 12, 2010
The NRL will become the first organisation in Australia to introduce revolutionary three-dimensional sports coverage, after revealing plans to trial live broadcast sites in Sydney this season.
Less than a fortnight after the 3D technology was unveiled for an English Premier League game between Arsenal and Manchester United, the NRL has moved to take advantage of the revolutionary technology.
David Gallop, the code's chief executive officer, has held discussions with the game's broadcasters about filming select games in 3D format and showing them at sites in the city, such as theatres and parks, this year.
It is understood that Foxtel, rather than the NRL's other broadcast partner Channel Nine, would be the likely provider of the coverage, although Gallop would not confirm their involvement. The pay TV network has an active program for 3D broadcasting in its engineering development labs and has made no secret of its plans to introduce test broadcasts to subscribers with 3D televisions by next year.
"We've already talked to the broadcasters about the possibility of some use of live sites during the season," Gallop told the Herald. "We've talked about doing it for select games. They're interested, for sure."
Gallop would not say how many games would be chosen to receive the 3D treatment or whether they would be the standout fixtures on the rugby league calendar such as the State of Origin series or the NRL grand final. However, he said the game screenings would be open to the general public, with a site such as Darling Harbour a leading candidate for fans to view matches like never before through 3D glasses.
The presence on the NRL board of Katie Page, the managing director of electronics retail giant Harvey Norman, had been instrumental in allowing rugby league to get a step ahead of the pack in terms of 3D development, Gallop said.
"It's one of those situations where one of your board members can give you a unique insight into the new technology," Gallop said. "Obviously with Katie Page on our board we've talked to her about the introduction of 3D through retail."
The launch of 3D TV sets into Australian stores is not due until midyear but the format, which has received a monumental publicity surge with the release last December of James Cameron's film Avatar, is widely regarded as central to the future of sports coverage. Already ESPN has declared itself as a leading player by announcing it will launch of a 3D sports network in the US in June, beginning with the broadcast of 25 matches from the World Cup in South Africa. Lalit Modi, the commissioner of the Indian Premier League, has also stated elements of this season's Twenty20 tournament will be broadcast in 3D.
Gallop says the fast-moving, impact-heavy character of rugby league is ideally suited to 3D and has indicated the technology could well work in the code's favour when it comes to negotiate a new TV-rights deal. The NRL's six-year, $500 million deal expires at the end of 2012.
"Anything that enhances the viewers' enjoyment is going to have a value attributed to it," Gallop said. "That could be lucrative for us in terms of TV rights. Rugby league is already uniquely suited to television because of the position of the ball and the players, so it's likely that 3D would make it an even more compelling TV product."
While the NRL is setting the example in Australia, other codes are already paving the way overseas. Sky's historic 3D broadcast of the match between Arsenal and Manchester United from Emirates Stadium on January 31 attracted more than 3000 spectacled fans to nine pubs around Britain and left fans raving about its quality.
That was followed last weekend by the presentation of the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Wales to 900 paying viewers at 40 cinemas in Britain. ESPN and Fox have been testing 3D coverage since 2008 and NBA and NFL games have previously been broadcast in theatres in the US.
