Count Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks as members of the pit crew for the first 3D telecast of a NASCAR race.
Those distributors have joined DirecTV's soon-to-launch N3D network in commiting to televise the 3D version of the Coke Zero 400 on July 3, with coverage from Daytona International Speedway set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Deal terms with Turner and NASCAR Media Group were not disclosed.
The 3D production will feature two custom racing feeds produced specifically for 3D. The first will cover the racing action from strategically placed cameras around the track, while the second stream will provide a 3D view from pit row. In order to experience the event in 3D, viewers will need a 3D TV display with matching 3D glasses.
In the nascent stages of the 3D television, some rights-holders are making enhanced contest widely available to jump-start interest in the technology and its images. To that end, ESPN and Augusta National Golf Club presented its 3D coverage of The Masters, which was transmitted by Comcast Media Center, to myriad distributors. Similarly, DirecTV and regional sports channels, YES Network and FSN Northwest, are making the 3D telecasts of the July 10-11 New York Yankees-Seattle Mariners baseball games accessible to other carriers. Thus far, Verizon FiOS has joined the distribution roster.
The 3D production of the Coke Zero 400 also will be made available online at NASCAR.com/RaceBuddy3D, which will serve as a complement to the Wide Open television presentation on TNT that features continuous race coverage devoid of national commercial breaks, affording a more unobstructed race action than that of a standard telecast via a letterbox widescreen format.
