Australia’s Channel Nine announces 3D plans

Website: Rapid TV News

With Samsung already advertising its 3D-capable TV sets on Australian television, all that is needed is some programming to watch on the set.

That will arrive next month, courtesy of Channel 9, which unveiled its surprise 3D plans today.

Channel 9 will be the first Australian network (and, it claimed, the first free-to-air broadcaster in the world) to go 3D, with a forthcoming rugby series to be broadcast in the third dimension.

Nine will require a temporary allocation of spectrum from the government for the service, and as it stands, 3D broadcasts will only be available in Sydney.

But Channel 9 hopes regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will allow the service to be extended elsewhere.

There are three matches in the State of Origin series, played between Queensland and New South Wales. The mini-tournament starts on May 26.

Retailer Harvey Norman is backing both the tournament and the 3D play.

Nine CEO David Gyngell said in a statement: “It’s early days of course because the technology is still developing, and its availability to consumers right now is limited.

But 3D is about to arrive with a bang across the world, and the Nine Network and Harvey Norman want to pioneer the revolution in Australia.”