BBC confirm Wimbledon Tennis 3D coverage

After some doubts, the BBC today confirmed they will be broadcasting parts of the 2012 Wimbledon Tennis Championships in 3D.

As part of the BBC’s two year 3D trial, the BBC will offer more 3D coverage than last year with full re-runs of the men's singles semi-finals in 3D as well as selective live coverage of the ladies' and men's finals in 3D, on the BBC HD channel.

Only the men’s semi-finals and finals were filmed and broadcast in 3D last year. The BBC broadcast both events on the BBC HD channel and digitally equipped cinemas presented the 3D feed.

Reviews of the tournament’s 3D coverage last year were mixed and cinema ticket sales were disappointing. Sony and Can Communicate, the BBC’s 3D production partners, will deploy the same amount of cameras as last year (six -space is very tight in centre court) but may deploy a seventh camera for interviews (TBC) and use the lessons they learnt from the 2011 tournament to enhance the coverage. The BBC’s role in the 3D production is to primarily provide shared camera feeds including a hi-speed camera for super-slow motion 3D shots converted to 3D in real time.

Sony have committed to broadcast the world famous tennis games in 3D for at least the next two years (including 2012) and lead rights holder ESPN 3D are scheduled to air eight live games outside of the UK. Japan’s WowWow, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia and the Tennis Channel have all confirmed carriage.

BBC Sport have also created a Wimbledon Championships connected TV app for smart TVs and live coverage will be available online, mobiles and tablets. The BBC Sport website will provide up to six live match streams as well as news, interviews and video highlights, all in 2D.

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