Get out your glasses. College basketball is coming at you in 3D. CBS Sports has announced it will produce the NCAA Final Four games and tournament championship this year in 3D. And while technically the games will take place in early April, the March Madness season is sure to get extra buzz from the 3D showings.
CBS Sports has been remarkably aggressive with the college basketball tournament in the past, pioneering the hugely successful March Madness On Demand (MMOD) service and jumping into the mobile arena last year. It’s a brilliant strategy. CBS gets fans excited, increases viewership, and starts creating demand for the next trend in television. This year’s games will only show in 3D in select movie theaters around the country, but 3D TVs are set to explode on the consumer market in a few short months. Next year there may be 3D tournament games you can watch from your living-room couch.
There are still a lot of questions about the market for 3D television, but the best argument for the technology is made by offering 3D versions of content that people are already passionate about. EngadgetHD writer Ben Drawbaugh changed his mind about 3D after watching a college football game. March Madness in 3D could alter a few more opinions. Especially if the experience is anything like Mark Cuban described it last year: “I can just tell you, it’s crazy. It is crazy. It’s the LSD of 2009!”
Filed under: 3D TV
