This morning I sent an email through to Foxtel to try and get an idea of how many people watched their Fox Sports 3D broadcast of the Socceroos friendly against New Zealand. Knowing how many people tuned in would not only give us a better indicator of the progress of the uptake of 3D televisions, but also of the demand for 3D content. Here was the response:
Hi Nick
Regarding your query about the FOX Sports first 3D broadcast last night, FOXTEL collects internal viewership data from special broadcast events such as these for our use and does not typically share the data publicly. The industry accepted ratings system, OZTAM, does not provide data for events such as these.
Last night’s historic broadcast was a trial of this exciting new 3D technology. We have been closely monitoring the developments of 3D around the world and last night was an important step in our overall 3D development plan.
With technology constantly evolving and developing, and consumers now embracing 3D, we will continue to explore future 3D broadcasts across sport and other genres, including movies.
In other words, it wasn’t a resounding success, otherwise Foxtel would be shouting to the heavens about how revolutionary their broadcast truly was. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it was a failure.
So the question now is how many of you actually watched the match in 3D? What did you think? Was the camera work up to scratch – filming in 3D isn’t the same as filming in 2D, and it will be interesting to see whether or not the Fox Sports crew was up to the task. Let us know what you thought…
canberracubicle
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 2:19 PMThere was a football game on last night? crap…
Spongeblob
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 2:29 PMYes I watched it in 3D and it still didn’t help Scott Mcdonald score for the Aussies!
Craig
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 2:39 PMSuch a gimmick. I’d be happy if Foxtel could just show sport in true HD and not the predominately up-scaled SD garbage they dish out.
Shane
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 2:58 PMWhat’s football???
Oh, that stuff on those channels I’ve removed from channel listings…
Cameron
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 3:20 PMI’d be doing that as well, but I’d only be left with ABC! Can’t imagine the Girlfriend happy about that.
Bring on program filtering I say! Then I can just remove any trace of football and leave the channels as is.
Kip
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 3:03 PMFOOTBALLLLLLL!!!!
Elbowgrease
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 3:03 PMNot me. It was just a soccer match after all.
Ken M
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 3:13 PMOh look, a tumbleweed…. but it’s in 3D!!!
Chris Guerin
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 3:16 PMI’m too poor to get a 3D TV, so yes I missed it.
So I say this to 3D TV… meh.
Sally Quinnell
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 3:30 PMCould not care less about soccer, but I briefly turned over to channel 200, just to see what 3D looked like in 2D, i.e. on my non 3D HD TV.
They essentially broadcast the image from both cameras at the same time, the left camera on the left half, and the right camera on the right half, essentially at 960×1080 res for each camera.
I guess if you are one of the 2 people in Australia that have a 3D TV, then it would upscale the 960×1080 of the left image to 1920×1080 for 1 cycle, then do the same to the right image for the next cycle.
So if you get up really close to the TV, put your nose in the middle, you can get 3D TV on your non 3D TV. :)
NotoriousR
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 4:32 PMIt was awesome in 3D! It was like I was there at the match! Oh wait… I was. $25 ticket versus several grand 3d tv for a poor crappy broadcast? I’d go to the match anyday.
And I also love how they just fed a giant load of noncomittal crap there, Nick.
Evan Smith
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 5:09 PMWatched it, was awesome…
Cant wait for more…
You lot don’t be hating now…
Scotty
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 5:26 PMGo that local sports team!
Wait… which one is football again?
Rod
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 6:27 PMWatched game in 3D. Not a soccer fan but game did look better in 3d.
It had more depth.
Congrats Foxtel.
Matt
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 6:49 PMnot really surprised by the lack of viewers. you had to fit some tight regulations to actually get the broadcast. for a starts, you had to actually own a 3d TV, then you also had to have IQ2, i doubt thats criteria a lot of people fit.
mavericks
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 7:18 PMI was there too right behind the goals on the home side stands. I noticed the large 3D cameras on the pitch.
Neil Way
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 7:26 PMTo be fair to Foxtel, it is up to OzTam to notify them of how many people may be viewing a particular ratings event (Foxtel has no way of recording how many people may be viewing any one event/program). Considering it’s highly unlikely they were assessing both the 3D and 2D seperately, there will never be any audience figures for these 3D events.
Ben Jennings
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 7:27 PMUm, FYI there was not a football game broadcast in 3D last night. Just a soccer game.
Don’t Foxtel only gather viewing data once a month from each subscriber? Unless it was a PPV event they wouldn’t even have the numbers yet.
happydude
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 8:42 PMill make a guess…
16.7 people
Peter Dearman
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 9:48 PMAuto-stereoscopic displays are glasses-less systems. When they hit their straps you may be sorry you shelled out on the current 3D technology offerings.
Namarrgon
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 3:04 PMYeah, I wouldn’t be holding my breath on that.
Go have a look at an actual autostereo display, and you’ll see how far they’ve got to go.
francis
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 10:23 PMI’m still on the 10 inch black and white. I’m not planning to replace it until it breaks down.
Note: It used to be a colour TV :D
Troy MacDonald
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 10:53 PMIt appears no-one cares about 3D. I am one of these people. Its a stupid gimmick and isn’t gonna become the norm. Also, I am not afraid of this comment coming back to bite me in the future cos I know in 5 years, everyone will be looking back on the failure of 3D.
Mark
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 3:16 AMI watched it,enjoyed it and it’s the way to go,i hope there will be much more 3D content available,the premier league & La Liga would be a prime candidate!! I wish they would cover the Fifa World Cup Games as well in 3D,if not all at least the most important ones!!
brad
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 10:23 AMnot me. i ditched the garbage ad infested crud that is also known as “foxtel” a long time ago and will never go back to it. ever!
as for a 3d tv, i went out on launch day with the intention to buy a samsung led 3d but no-one had anything anywhere. my interest has since dissipated and will wait till they are a bit cheaper. i still cant believe i was going to spend ~$6K on a damn tv…. AGAIN!
Millsy
Friday, July 23, 2010 at 12:35 PMi really dont care about sports being 3d since im not a sport fan. But i am excited to consider the possibility of all other programs being in 3d, movies most of all. Imagine how friggen scary Jurrasic Park would have been if it was in 3d, 3d versions of Halle Berry in Cat Woman she was hot as hell anyway let alone in 3d. Even cooking shows and doco’s in 3d would be way better!!