The Future Is Now: ESPN, DirecTV Joining 3DTV Push in 2010

You better invest in a cool pair of shades right now. ESPN has announced that, starting this summer, the network will be producing events in 3D. Yes, three-dimensional pictures will be sent into our homes starting in June. That sound you hear is the minds of every kid who grew up watching the Jetsons and never imagining this technology would exist being collectively blown. Seriously folks, we have video conferencing online for free and now 3DTV, let alone in our lifetime but this year. Excuse me while I go staple some wings to my fold-up space car. Per the ESPN release:

ESPN 3D will showcase a minimum of 85 live sporting events during its first year, beginning June 11 with the first 2010 FIFA World Cup match, featuring South Africa vs. Mexico, ESPN and ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer announced.

Other events to be produced in 3D include the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, college basketball and football contests, up to 25 World Cup matches and the Summer X Games. Additional events will be announced at a later date.

Now, much like HDTV, it seems you'll need a special 3DTV, or converter to 3D, to view the events. Like the early HDTVs, the converters are already available and most brands are plugging their new sets as 3D ready. The line starts behind me.

Now, the ESPN offering will only be broadcasting games -- sorry, no chance of a 3D Scott Van Pelt giving us late-night highlights (yet) -- but there's also news today that, starting in 2011, Discovery, IMAX and Sony will be joining forces to create a 24-hour 3D network. Per the NYT:

Companies like Discovery, Imax, Sony, and the Walt Disney Company, which controls ESPN, are trying to place themselves at the forefront of an emerging technology, much as media companies did in the HDTV arms race. 3D televisions may not be mainstream for many years, but "every TV manufacturer is putting on a 3D push," Jason Oxman, a spokesman for the Consumer Electronics Association, told the BBC.

This is an international arms race, it seems, as a quick Google search for 3DTV landed on the Korea IT Times website, which has a report filed today detailing the Korean government's plan to invest $35 billion dollars in basic R&D of this 3D technology. Per that report, obviously translated:

The focal point in these large amounts of investment by the government on R&D of 3D technology is to dominate the 3D market in advance. The outlook on the 3D market is bright and seems to be growing at a rapid rate. Recently, Sony has hold hands with FIFA and the Olympics will be relayed by 3D and also with the rise of 3DTV the whole nation is expected to broadcast 3D in the future.

Already DirecTV is on board, as a report at SportsBusiness Daily says the satellite company is already equipped to handle the conversion to 3D.

TV programmers and distributors are also poised to accelerate their involvement in 3D TV beginning this week. In particular, DirecTV is expected to announce the creation of a 3D tier in 2010, according to industry sources. Such a move, likely requiring only a firmware update to existing satellite receivers, would follow a similar announcement from BSkyB in England. The move by DirecTV will be welcomed by sports properties already eagerly eyeing 3D as a new set of valuable TV rights, but networks will likely resist the 3D push, mainly because of the heightened costs associated with producing games in the format.

The Olympics. The World Cup. Within the year a full 3D tier on one of the largest television service providers and the promise of a full 3D network by 2011. Remember growing up when we were fascinated with the technology below? Talk about a long time ago and a galaxy far, far away.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.