Sky 3D Soon?

It turns out Sky TV boss John Fellet does have a “friggin’ idea” of when the satcaster may launch a 3D service here, at least according to today’s NZ Herald.

In his column, media commentator John Drinnan reports the possibility of Sky using spectrum from the four analogue channels it will shut down next month to deliver eight 3D channels or 16 HD channels.

But he also cites experts who suspect Sky’s being optimistic and say it’s too hard to calculate how many HD or 3D channels could be squeezed into the old analogue space.

Even so, it’s re-assuring to see Sky at last making a public commitment to 3DTV after previously stating it was “some years away” — because where Sky leads — digital, widescreen, 5.1 audio, HD — the others will follow.

Later in his column, Drinnan lambasts TV One’s Close Up for “snubbing” Prime Minister John Key for a post-state of the nation interview on Tuesday in favour of a “long and overblown tabloid set piece” about ex-All Black Robin Brooke’s apology, arguing it “illustrates state television’s leading role in Kiwi media’s shift to tabloid news values”.