ESPN Exec VP/Sales & Marketing Sean Bratches during his keynote address at NewBay Media's "Connected TV and 3D" conference yesterday in N.Y. “painted a mostly sanguine picture” of 3D TV’s “advance to date and its potential for growth during the decade ahead,” according to Mike Reynolds of MULTICHANNEL NEWS. ESPN 3D on Monday night “aired its 106th live event” with Mavericks-Thunder Western Conference Finals Game Four, and Bratches indicated that “there's plenty more of those enhanced images where that came from.” He said that ESPN 3D is “currently available to some 65 million homes, well ahead of where ESPN HD was at a similar stage in its growth cycle.” Bratches said that ESPN 3D's own progress aside, the format “was picking up momentum for a variety of reasons: consumer awareness has advanced at double-digit rate since 2010; an expected fivefold increase in the number of 3D sets to be sold in 2011; price points are dropping significantly; 33 3D theatrical releases this year; and international network rollouts.” He cited estimates from Insight Media that there “could be 100 3D channels globally by 2015.” He said that ESPN and others are “committed to finding ways to reduce production costs so that more content can feed the 3D pipeline.” Bratches: "At ESPN, it's our intention to keep the needle moving" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 5/24).
