And another one bites the dust: following in the footsteps of ESPN and the BBC, Foxtel is to abandon its 3DTV service.
From 27 August Foxtel's 3D channel ( 201) will cease to be broadcast and will be removed from the company’s on-screen and online TV Guides. The leading pay-TV operator said that due to “a worldwide lack of 3D content production, it is no longer viable for Foxtel to maintain a dedicated 3D channel”.
The first blow to 3DTV came in March 2013 when Bob Zitter, executive vice president and CTO at HBO, proclaimed that 3D was dead in the water. "We never thought that 3D with glasses was ever going to get off the ground," Zitter told attendees at the TV Connect show. "Consumers have shown they do not want to wear glasses in the home. 3D with glasses is dead."
Weeks later ESPN announced that was discontinuing its offering due to limited viewer adoption. “ESPN 3D was great at home but due to low adoption of 3D to home, we are discontinuing to focus on other products for fans and affiliates," said ESPN spokeswoman Katina Arnold. Days later the BBC announced it was putting its 3D development on hold.
Despite making its closures, Foxtel assured that it will continue to show the occasional 3D pay-per-view (PPV) movie title via its on-demand service. However, due to the inevitable declining availability of 3D sport and documentary content, it does not expect to be able to show these types of 3D content via on-demand once the 3D channel is closed.