French Open gets 3D touch

Virgin Media has revealed it is to broadcast the French Open in 3D with the Eurosport footage of the clay court tennis event to be screened live on channel 523, reports T3.

Targeting the 3D sports market currently dominated by Sky's dedicated extra-dimension channel Sky 3D, the Virgin Media 3D broadcast of the French Open will act as the service's first live 3D screening having previously offered the emerging tech on an on-demand basis.

“We're delighted to be adding one of the year's most prestigious sporting events to our calendar and giving our customers more of those 'wow' moments in breathtaking 3D,” says executive director of Digital Entertainment at Virgin Media, Cindy Rose.

People will tune in to see Rafael Nadal's match against Andy Murray as the first needs to defeat his title, writes Compare Best Deals.com.

Women tennis will bring Caroline Wozniacki against Francesca Schiavone. Virgin promises to deliver these top-notch Roland Garros matches in 3D to its subscribers delight.

Roland Garros began yesterday and ends in two weeks, on Sunday 5 June. Jean Thierry Augustin from Eurosport's distribution says: “This agreement with Virgin Media will enable UK sports fans to experience Grand Slam tennis as never before.

“The iconic clay courts of Roland Garros are the perfect stage to demonstrate the progress being made in 3D sports broadcasting. It will be the first time an entire Grand Slam event has been accessible in 3D to viewers at home from the opening day to the final and it reinforces Eurosport's commitment to innovation and new technology.”

This marks the first time that the French Open has been shown live in 3D on a UK digital TV platform, according to Digital Spy.

Last year's tournament was only shown in 3D in selected Panasonic stores. As well as the live coverage, Virgin Media will also enable its estimated 1.5 million customers with 3D-capable set-top boxes to catch up on matches via its 3D on-demand service - but they will first need to purchase a 3D-ready TV set.

The coverage will again be offered in Panasonic stores across Europe, and shown live by Swisscom in Switzerland and Canal Digital in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.