Panasonic Plans First Live 3D Olympics; Ebersol Back at NBC

(ATR) Panasonic will take Olympic broadcasting into a new era at the London Games.

The IOC TOP sponsor of more than 20 years will work with Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) to produce the first HD 3D live broadcast in Olympic history.

The 3D broadcast will include major events such as the opening and closing ceremonies, athletics, gymnastics, diving as well as swimming and will be produced and delivered to participating rights-holding broadcasters around the world.

OBS will be responsible for producing more than 200 hours of 3D coverage during the Games by utilizing Panasonic’s 3D production technologies.

"For the past two decades, Panasonic has been a valued partner of the Olympic Movement and of the host broadcasting organization," said OBS managing director Manolo Romero in a statement.

"We are now proud to announce this partnership to realize the first ever live 3D Olympic Games, and we are confident that this unprecedented broadcast will be a great success in no small part due to the 3D technologies provided by Panasonic."

He added: "Ultimately, we believe this production of the first live 3D Olympic Games will make the London 2012 Olympic Games one of the most significant in the history of broadcasting technology."

Panasonic, an IOC Worldwide Partner in the audio and visual equipment category since Calgary 1988, helped deliver the first HD broadcast in TV coverage of the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

"Now we are proud to announce the partnership with the IOC and OBS to create another successful era in Olympic broadcasting," said TakumiKajisha, managing executive officer of Panasonic.

"There is no doubt that the Olympic Games will provide some of the best content for the 3D market in the future, and that 3D TV will drastically change the way we experience this great sporting event in our living rooms."

Last month, a panel of Olympic TV executives at the Aroundthe Rings Newsmaker Breakfast on "The Changing Face of TV Broadcasting for London 2012" claimed that the Olympics would be the first truly digital Summer Games.

"I think this is the first time people are going to have unlimited choice," Roger Mosey, director of London 2012 for the BBC told an audience at the event held at the iconic OXO Tower in London.

Ebersol Returns to NBC

Dick Ebersol is returning to NBC as a senior advisor for the network’s coverage of the 2012 Games. Ebersol resigned in May as chairman of NBC Sports after handling nearly 20 years of Olympic Games. Conflicts over terms of a new contract are said to have led to Ebersol’s departure.

Along with work on the Olympics, Ebersol is also supposed to be involved with Sunday Night Football, a broadcast he launched and supervised for NBC.

Reported by Mark Bisson and Ed Hula