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rnBut the plan that Hollywood and TV makers have for 3-D to become a fixture in the home is not playing out as scripted.rn

rn3-D has found its way into about 12 million U.S. homes, according to market tracking firm The NPD Group. TV makers have included it as a feature on mid- and higher-priced displays over the last three years or so. However, 3-D-ready TV sales are starting to slow and few use 3-D features regularly.rn

rnEven though many homes have 3-D TVs and are watching events and 3-D Blu-ray Discs, there are signs that the move to TV broadcasts in 3-D might have been premature. "It's not clear the case can be made for it in the short term," says Mary Shelton Rose…

rn Last month, ESPN announced that it will be shutting down its 3-D channel by the end of the year. Commentators proclaimed this news as the death knell for 3-D television. I think they’re wrong. ESPN’s move won’t kill 3-D TV. If I thought that were the case, as CTO of a company that’s in the business of producing 3-D content, including that for broadcast, I’d be worried. I’m not. ESPN’s announcement may well be the thing that kicks 3-D TV programming and adoption into high gear.

rn ESPN’s foray into 3-D TV, which began in 2010, was doomed from the outset. ESPN focused on marketing and keeping costs low. While they did spend a good deal of money on their for…

nThe BBC has become the latest broadcaster to put down its 3-D glasses.

nThe British public broadcaster confirmed on Friday that it had suspended its 3-D programming plans, citing a lack of viewer interest in the technology that brings three-dimensional images to TV.

nThe move came about a month after ESPN, the best-known provider of 3-D programming in the United States, announced that it was going to shut down its 3-D cable channel. It, too, cited “limited consumer adoption” of the technology. While many households own 3-D TV sets, few ever use them — along with the special glasses — to watch eye-popping shows.

nKim Shillinglaw, t…

Can a product be considered successful if no one bothers to use its differentiating features? That's what 3-D TV manufacturers must ponder as they grapple with two wildly divergent facts.

On one hand, over 41 million 3-D TV sets shipped worldwide last year.

On the other hand, barely 100,000 American homes watch 3-D channels at any given time. Viewer apathy was so overwhelming, that Disney's (NYSE: DIS  ) ESPN announced that its 3-D broadcasts would cease this year, citing an "extremely limited and not growing" market.

If you can't get sports fans -- male-skewed and ostensibly a prime target for new or improved viewing experiences -- to tune into a channel th…

NEW YORK (AP) - ESPN's decision to shut down its 3-D channel by the end of the year is the latest sign the format won't revolutionize entertainment as the industry once hoped.

Troubling signs for 3-D have been on the horizon for the last year or so. ESPN 3D's audience ratings were below The Nielsen Co.'s measurable threshold, and in March, the Motion Picture Association said box office revenue for 3-D showings in the U.S. and Canada held steady at $1.8 billion in 2012. The number of 3-D films released in the period dropped by 20 percent.

"The ESPN decision is a sign that the 3-D ecosystem is not healthy," said Laura Martin, an analyst with investment banking firm Needh…

While the demise of ESPN 3D is a blow to 3D programming on TV, a handful of 3D channels for 3D TV owners will still remain, as well as 3D video-on-demand programming offers from several operators. The question is - for how long?

As the evolution of the television business continues, it is clear that the dearth of 3D content is at the heart of the lack of widespread consumer subscriptions to linear 3D cable networks. Following the shuttering of ESPN 3D, the number of 3D channels operating in the US will be reduced to five: 3net, n3D, Xfinity 3D, MSG 3D, 3net, and DirecTV Cinema.

Given the closure of ESPN 3D and the reduction of service to  n3D, it is conceivabl…

rn June 14, 2013 at 11:39 AM ETrn

TV sports in 3D was supposed to be a slam dunk, but viewers never got the picture. And, then there were those stupid-looking glasses, too.

This week, ESPN acknowledged the future for in-your-face screen action looks dim when it announced it was pulling the plug on ESPN 3D, almost three years after launching it with considerable fanfare.

“I would say the 3D network was dead on arrival,” said David Miller, a senior analyst at B. Riley & Co. “The proliferation of 3D networks had to depend on selling 3D glasses, and no one wanted to buy 3D glasses.”

“The whole problem with 3D TV is it was a solution …

“The ESPN decision is a sign that the 3-D ecosystem is not healthy,” said Laura Martin, an analyst with investment banking firm Needham & Co. “It must be there’s not enough demand for 3-D TV.”

The sports network said there weren’t enough viewers to make 3-D broadcasts worth it. It didn’t say exactly how many viewers it had, but the number was “extremely limited and not growing,” the network said.

Last year, an estimated 6 percent of TVs in the U.S. were able to show 3-D programming, according to the most recent data from research firm IHS Screen Digest. Even homes that have 3-D TVs don’t appear to be using them very muc…

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When ESPN officially announced on Wednesday that it would discontinue its pioneering 24/7 3D channel before the end of the year, it hardly came as a surprise.

The decision had been rumored, and ESPN acknowledged in a statement that there was “limited viewer adoption of 3D services to the home.”

It was a clear setback for stakeholders who want to bring 3D to the living room, but they are not ready to throw in the towel.

“3D isn't dead but as we can see from this decision is in a precarious position,” admitted Duncan Humphreys, creative director at CAN Communicate, the London facility behind the first live-by-satellite 3D broadcast (England vs. Scotland rug…