Apparently, 3D TV Wasn't Such a Smash Hit (NYPost)

**Drew Wilson** · September 6th, 2011, 04:48 PM

The next big thing in TV -- 3-D -- is proving such a bomb with consumers, the first victim may be ESPN's sports-in-3-D channel.

"At one point last year they were actually openly questioning whether they were going to go ahead into year two," tech analyst Phillip Swann told The Post.

The problem is plain, he says. Most of the advertisers on ESPN 3D are the set manufacturers themselves.

And of sales of 3-D TVs show no signs they are going to pick up anytime soon.

"If those guys start to get cold feet, then I suspect ESPN 3D will bow out," he says.

The sports channel insists that ESPN 3-D -- which launched in June 2010 -- is in it for the long haul.

"New television technologies have always taken time to be nurtured and grow, and this is no exception," a network rep tells The Post. "We're where we thought we would be 14 months in, if not farther along."

But there is little enthusiasm for the new technology, even from sports people. "3-D on TV is a bust," says Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and head of HDNet.

More...

Hmm... force customers to spend thousands on a new HD TV, then expect them to fork over thousands more for a 3D TV just a few months later. What could possibly go wrong?