In this month's CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, the hot topic was 3-D TV: many major TV manufacturers previewed their 3-D enabled products. The success of the 3-D movie Avatar smashed box office records and paved the way for the announcement that several TV networks have planned for 3-D channels. Discovery Communications, Sony and IMAX are working on developing a 3-D TV network that airs 24 hours a day/seven days a week by 2011. During the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), ESPN also announced that they are planning on their own 3-D TV network for 2010.

As David Kaplan from The Economics of Content states, "The division of labor is perfectly aligned to each company's abilities: Discovery will handle network services such as affiliate sales, as well as 3-D TV rights to Discovery content. Discovery also promises to promote the venture heavily across its portfolio of 13 U.S. TV networks. Sony will manage ad sales and sponsorships, while working to secure TV rights for 3-D feature films, music- and game-related 3-D content. It will extend Discovery's on-air announcements of the forthcoming network with promotions at retail stores. Lastly, IMAX will help Sony on licensing TV rights to future 3-D films, as well as offering further promotion at the movie theaters it owns."

The question that brands and agencies are starting to ask themselves is, "Do I need to start creating 3-D ads?" According to an interview published by Ad Age, Ed Ulbrich, President of Digital Domain's commercial division answered, "You do if you're a cinema advertiser who wants to make a visual impact before films such as Avatar. Moreover, AICP CEO, Matt Miller says, "I think that's premature. I might be proven wrong, but 3-D for right now, and for the foreseeable future while you need glasses, is an event experience, not an everyday experience. Until you can get over that hurdle, which will probably happen in the next decade, three years or 10 years...it's going to be tough."

For effective ways to implement television please contact your US Media Consulting Representative.

Source: 1)http://paidcontent.org/article/419-discovery-sony-and-imax-partner-on-3d-tv 2)Advertising Age-January 11, 2010-Think You Need a 3-D Ad? Some Advice from Experts by Nick Parish