BBC Sport announces London 2012 3D coverage

The BBC today announced it will broadcast some of its London 2012 Olympic games coverage in 3D.

The broadcaster says the opening and closing ceremonies and a nightly highlights package will be shown in 3D on the BBC HD channel.

The only sporting event to be shown live in 3D will be the men’s 100 metre finals on 5 August.

Roger Mosey, BBC London 2012 director, said on Wednesday: “We’ve always been clear we were never going to have a 3D channel for the Olympics and the BBC’s overall approach to 3D has been very much on the lines of an experiment around special events like Wimbledon and Strictly Come Dancing.

“This caution has been in line with consumer demand – 3D has spread more slowly than we perhaps expected in 2009 and there have been interesting developments abroad with France’s Canal Plus announcing that it’s stopping its 3D channel because it just hadn’t met its targets.

“But we do believe it’s right for the BBC to go ahead with a 3D experiment this summer.”

The main SD transmission will be on BBC One, the HD simulcast will be on BBC One HD and the 3D version will be shown on the BBC HD Channel.

The nightly highlights will feature a range of sports and will air after the live action has finished.

Kim Shillinglaw, the head of BBC 3D, said: “We have always said we believe some of 2012 should be captured in 3D, and we’re delighted to confirm our offer to audiences in the UK, providing them with a new way of getting close to some of the key moments from the London 2012 Olympic Games.”