In Demand and the UFC for the first time will make a pay-per-view event available to cable operators in 3D.
Saturday's UFC 143 event between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit will be offered in 3D to consumers with a 3D-ready TV set and a compatible HD settop box, according to In Demand executives.
The 3D feed will retail at a suggested price of $64.99, with the standard definition and high-definition feeds retailing at $44.99 and $54.99 respectively.
In Demand senior vice president of programming and business development Mark Boccardi told Multichannel News that the 3D event is a significant development for the PPV category.
"This is a milestone for the industry irrespective of the buys and performance," he said. "This is more about us making a statement to the industry that we're bringing 3D PPV as a new potential source of revenue to the cable industry going forward."
Boccardi said that In Demand is talking to the UFC and other event distributors about bringing future 3D PPV events to cable.
In addition to the 3D offering, In Demand will provide UFC fans with a live stream of the event's undercard fights via its site as well as through selected cable system websites, said network executives.
Also, In Demand will offer a three-hour countdown show beginning at 7 p.m. that will contain the main event weigh-in as well as behind-the-scenes features.
