DirecTV’s latest exclusive offering will be the country’s first and only 3D channels in 2010 — three of them.
That’s the “surprise” announcement planned for CES next week now that the satellite TV service provider successfully launched its DirecTV 12 satellite Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (4:22 p.m. PT Monday, Dec. 29).
The company’s 11th owned-and-operated satellite will boost DirecTV’s HiDef capacity by more than 50% to deliver more than 200 HiDef channels via five HiDef satellites early in the second quarter of 2010.
DirecTV did not announce their 3D plans but a spokesman told us here at 3DHollywood.net / HollywoodInHiDef.com that “3D is something we are very interested in and we’re looking at all of the various pieces of the puzzle that need to be put together.”
News about a single 3D channel broke late Monday on HDguru.com and has been picked up widely across the Internet without any official confirmation or elaboration. 3DH/HiHD learned earlier this month that DirecTV is partnering on the launch of three 3D channels with a major CE company as a cross-promotion for new 3D displays to be introduced next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas when the announcement will be made official (most likely on media preview day Wednesday, Jan. 6). We had honored our promise to keep the news under wraps but can now provide a little more of the details as noted above.
DirecTV’s new satellite will also increase the number of local HiDef markets DirecTV will serve and significantly expand movie choices on the DirecTV Cinema and DirecTV on Demand services. DirecTV offers more than 130 HiDef channels today and delivers local HiDef programming to 138 markets, representing 92% of U.S. TV households.
— By Scott Hettrick