Forty Odeon and Cineworld cinemas in England are to screen live 3D coverage of England’s home games in the 6 Nations rugby series. The event is being run by the England sponsor O2 to celebrate 100 years of rugby at Twickenham Stadium and will be the first time a sports event has been broadcast live in 3D in Europe.
Rugby is one of a number of sports that have been recorded by BSkyB in its 3D experiments and the 6 Nations was also the subject of a 3D test by the BBC in March 2008. The BBC is the UK TV rights holder for the 6 Nations – played between England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy – and will assist O2 in the broadcast.
“In Twickenham’s centenary year, this demonstrates that England Rugby has a rich history and an even richer future with exciting new developments such as O2’s 3D screenings,” said Paul Vaughan, RFU business operations director.
The first game to be broadcast will be the centenary match between England and Wales on February 6. O2 is reserving a number of tickets for its customers before they go on general release on January 25.
