A new report says more than 50 content providers and pay-TV operators will be supplying 3D offerings to the home by the end of this year, and more will join the effort as 3D television set adoption by consumers continues to accelerate.
IMS Research says a survey of broadcasters and operators showed that 70 percent plan to test or offer 3D content within the next year and a half, and that more than 20 percent already were active in the 3D ecosystem.
"Although right now there are only a few select operators and networks that have the resources to create and deliver a compelling 3D offering, most leading service providers and broadcasters around the world are considering how to enhance their premium offerings by incorporating 3D," said Anna Hunt, report author and principal analyst at IMS Research.
"Increased adoption of 3D TV sets into homes will further propel investment in 3D content production. Currently, low penetration of 3D-capable displays in consumers' homes is a leading concern of surveyed service providers, followed by lack of standardized 3D formats."
According to IMS, some 9 percent of of worldwide TV households will have a 3D TV set by the end of 2014. Penetration is expected to be much higher in the US, where 40 percent of TV homes at the end of 2014 are forecast to have a 3D TV.
A study released by Informa in June, meanwhile, forecast just 8.7 million U.S. households to be active 3D TV viewers by the end of 2015, about 7 percent of the U.S. market; Japan (2 million households), the U.K. (1.6 million) and Korea (1.5 million) making up the remainder of the Big Four. Worldwide 3D TV penetration is forecast at just 1.6 percent by 2015.
Digital cable is expected to outpace IPTV uptake of 3D, Informa said, accounting for some 47 percent of active 3D households by 2015, up from the current 38 percent.
For more:
- see this release
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Report: Steady 3D TV growth seen in U.S. future; IPTV 3D adoption