Sony Extends Sponsorship of ESPN 3D Channel

Sony is extending its sponsorship of ESPN 3D for another year.

Sony was named the first official sponsor of the network when it was announced in January 2010. The network launched June 11 2010 and became to a 24/7 network on February 14 2011.

Ed Erhardt, president of ESPN Customer Marketing and Sales, said: “We’re doubling the number of college football games on the network this fall, which was made possible by our strategic relationship with Sony.”

ESPN 3D produced more than 115 live sporting events and was launched with the commencement of the 2010 FIFA World Cup soccer championship games.

3DTV is still to become an established part of people’s homes. First-year set sales was just 1.1 million in the United States, whilst this year’s number is expected to hit 1.9 million. That’s still a fraction of ESPN 3D’s footprint, which covers 65 million households.

Recent research from the United Kingdom on 3D reveals conflicts. 3DTV penetration is expected to grow, but 3DTV usage for viewing stereoscopic content is not.