April 8 – The World Cup final at Soccer City in Johannesburg will be among 25 matches at this year’s tournament broadcast in 3D, it was announced today.
Twenty-five of the 64 matches in South Africa will be filmed by at least seven dedicated pairs of cameras, with record five-time World Cup winner Brazil the most featured team.
All three of its group matches are among the 15 first-round games scheduled for broadcast.
Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Argentina, South Korea and Nigeria will each appear twice, with England and France among the 10 sides which must advance to stand a chance of their matches being shown in the format.
The first ever World Cup match broadcast in 3D will be the opening game between South Africa and Mexico at Soccer City.
The 3D footage will be broadcast live to home viewers in 26 countries and at dedicated public events.
“The 3D feed from these 25 matches will be made available for broadcast on 3D channels, which can be enjoyed by consumers on their 3D-compatible TV sets in the comfort of their home, almost as if they were in the football stadium themselves,” said Niclas Ericson, the director of FIFA TV.
“Whilst discussions with major broadcasters are ongoing, I am very pleased to announce the first confirmed partners for the 3D live broadcast, who are ESPN in the US and Sogecable in Spain.
“We expect further announcements to be made shortly.”
Fans will be able to watch the 3-D matches at dedicated sites at Soccer City, Cape Town and Durban, as well as in cinemas and at fan festivals, modeled on the fan zones that were so popular in Germany during the 2006 World Cup, and in cities including Berlin, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City.
“Sony has long standing credentials in the creation of professional 3-D technology and content for theatrical use,” said Hiroko Saito, the deputy general manager of global sponsorships, Sony Corporation.
“True to our strategy ‘From the lens to the living-room’, we are actively involved at every stage of the 3-D value chain and proudly draw on the strengths of the ‘3-D World created by Sony’, which encapsulates our expertise in professional solutions, consumer electronics, movie making and gaming alike.
“We are very excited to capitalise on these strengths and to be able to complement our compelling -D proposition by bringing an entirely new viewing experience to the world of football through our partnership with FIFA.”
Related stories
January 2010: ESPN to broadcast World Cup matches in 3D
December 2009: South Africa 2010 set to be shown in 3D