Eurosport has said it will deliver live coverage of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros to over 3,000 retail stores in partnership with the television manufacturer Panasonic, Orange and the Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT).
Coverage from Court Philippe Chatrier will be filmed and shown live in 3D. As reported in Broadband TV News earlier this week the French IPTV operator Orange will launch a dedicated 3D channel for its subscribers and selected retail stores.
“We are excited to be part of an innovative partnership that is taking this new and complex technology, combining it with an exceptional sporting event and bringing it to TVs in stores throughout Europe,” said Eurosport Chairman and CEO Laurent-Eric Le Lay. Through this in-store 3D experience around the Tennis French Open at Roland Garros, consumers witness and enjoy first-hand the impact of great technology on a prestigious sports event.”
Eurosport will have the rights outside of France, broadcasting to 3,000 retail stores in 58 territories. Details of participating dealers can be found on the Panasonic website.
“The collaboration between Panasonic, Orange, Eurosport and the FFT is a major step forward to show the potential of not just of Hollywood blockbusters but also live broadcast events. For such a prestigious sporting occasion to be available live in 3D will really spark the audience’s imagination and provide a blueprint for the future of 3D broadcasting,” said Laurent Abadie, CEO and Chairman, Panasonic Europe.
The project has been timed to coincide with the launch by Panasonic of a range of 50 inch Full HD 3D Viera TVs and Blu-ray players.
