DIGITAL TV SUMMIT – 2011. 3net, the joint venture 3DTV network set up by Sony, Discovery and iMAX earlier this year, plans to selectively launch in markets outside the US in the long term as a block or a brand.
However, according to its president Tom Cosgrove, it sees its current role as one of a distributor, fully owning 80% of its library and licensing it to such companies as Sky.
Cosgrove added that besides operating a 3D channel in the US, 3net is the leading studio creator of 3D and will have the largest library of native 3D content by the end of the year.
He also stressed that 3D will not replace HD, with the two technologies complementing each other.
In terms of statistics, one in two new TVs sold in the US by 2014 will be 3D.
There will also be 160 million 3D sets worldwide by 2015, “light years ahead” of HD at this stage of its development.