NBA All-Star Saturday Night To Be Offered In 3-D At 80 Theatres

Turner Sports, NBA Ink Deal To Show All- Star Saturday Night Events In 3-D HD

Turner Sports and the NBA have struck a deal with New Jersey-based Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. to show the NBA All-Star Saturday night events in February in 3-D HD live in 80 theatres in 35 states across the country. Building upon several smaller-scale efforts in the last two years involving marquee NBA events, as well as last week’s VIP screening in three cities of the Raiders-Chargers game, the latest venture marks one of the first nationwide, public screenings of a live sporting event in the emerging format. Fox has also announced plans to show the January 8 BCS National Championship game in 3-D HD in select theatres, but has not yet outlined firm plans on which markets and theatres will receive the enhanced production. The NBA All-Star Saturday events set for February 14, including the skills and shooting stars competitions and dunk and three-point shooting contents, will be shown in 3-D HD on as many as 160 screens involving 11 different cinema brands, including Carmike Cinemas, Galaxy Cinemas and Marquee Cinemas. Ticket pricing has not yet been set, but about $20 is likely. “I want to an be insider in this stuff, understand why it works, how it works, what can happen next. We all know that 3-D is going to be part of the habits of at least some part of the viewing base in the future, and in order to take full advantage of that, you have to push the boundaries and take some risks on things like this,” said Turner Sports President David Levy (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal). Levy: "We're aiming at the Saturday night moviegoer. And we'll be able to do things with the 3-D cameras that we wouldn't normally be able to do with a live game. ... It's whether the transmission works, the production works, all these pieces of the puzzle. This is a test more than anything" (L.A. TIMES, 12/10). Levy added that he is "not sure whether theater-goers will get an 'arena experience' -- meaning no TV announcers -- rather than regular coverage" (USA TODAY, 12/10).

DEAL A LICENSING ARRANGEMENT: Financial terms were not disclosed, but the pact is essentially a licensing arrangement. Cinedigm will distribute a special feed of the event incorporating five 3-D HD cameras, including one that will frequently be on the court, and utilizing Turner graphics, production and talent. There also will be a revenue-sharing component of advertising, particularly on-site activations at the participating cinemas, that both Turner and Cinedigm will sell. “Cinedigm is making a big step to distribute this nationally and help create a business,” said NBA Entertainment Exec VP/Operations & Technology Steve Hellmuth. “For the near-term, this still will be reserved for special occasions such as this. We’re still definitely in the beginning of the development of 3-D HD. But I do believe there’s a business there.” Pace, which helped the NBA produce the earlier 3-D HD exhibitions, will again supply the camera system in Phoenix to shoot the All-Star events (Fisher).