For the sports broadcasting world in 2010, this is the question: 3-D or not 3-D?

With apologies to William Shakespeare and Ron MacLean, the answer more and more is yes when it comes to big sporting events.

That’s why Saturday’s World Cup third-place game and Sunday’s final will be aired in three dimensions for those Rogers HD customers who have 3-D sets. Nobody knows for sure how many people have 3-D televisions, but the number is small enough to ensure that only the big events will get 3-D exposure for now.

But the day isn’t far off when 3-D sports dominate the dial.

“It’s not a matter of if, but when,” says Rogers Communications vice-president and general manager David Purdy.

While a 3-D channel isn’t on radar screens yet, Purdy expects a big increase in 3-D broadcasts within the next two years or so. And, as always, sports will be leading the parade.

“Basically, sports fans value picture and sound quality more than people who don’t watch sports,” Purdy says. “Nobody’s dying to see news or sitcoms in 3-D, but movies and sports are another matter.”

But not everyone is so confident that we’ll all soon be watching sports while wearing funny glasses.

CBC Sports head Scott Moore likes what he sees from 3-D broadcasts, but says there’s a long way to go.

“It’s spectacular, but it’s still a work in progress,” he says. “They’re still trying to figure out how to use 3-D. It’s an interesting way to watch a game, but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done before it’s more than just a gimmick.”

The other problem is that at this point there’s no upside for networks or cable companies to foot the expensive production costs or supply the extra bandwidth that 3-D eats up.

“It’s more expense to us, but no more revenue,” Moore says. “It’s the TV manufacturers and the appliance stores that are making the money. Somebody will have to change the business model to make it work.”

Despite those problems, Moore isn’t dismissing 3-D. In fact, CBC is looking at offering a few Hockey Night In Canada broadcasts next season.

While no one knows how many will watch the weekend action in 3-D, CBC is pretty confident it will set regular viewing records. This week’s semifinals averaged 2.25 million viewers, so Sunday’s final should top the 2006 record of 2.84 million on CTV.

“Our numbers are tracking more than double the ratings from 2006,” says Moore. “That’s a tremendous success no matter how you measure it.”

While the new ratings system is producing consistently higher numbers, Moore points out that hockey audiences are up 30-50 per cent. Doubling audiences is unprecedented.

He has one explanation for that huge jump, though he may be biased: the power of conventional television (like CBC) over cable.

“Every mom-and-pop restaurant is showing the game because they don’t need a cable hook-up,” he says.

A more likely reason is that the new personal people meters are now including all those who gather in restaurants and bars to watch the World Cup. There were just as many of them last time around, but the old system didn’t catch them.

Another is the growth of soccer’s popularity, something CBC is counting on. While the network’s decision to drop the Toronto Raptors spurred talk in some circles that Toronto FC might be next, Moore put those thoughts to rest.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“We are committed to Toronto FC and soccer,” Moore says. “With expansion to Vancouver and Montreal, we expect to expand our coverage. We are totally committed to soccer.”

The Raptors, not so much.

czelkovich@thestar.ca