Is 3D TV a fad?

One of the world's biggest and most influential broadcasters, the BBC has decided to abandon plans to continue creating and broadcasting content in 3D and will take a break of at least three years before reconsidering the feature.

The broadcaster has been experimenting with different output, from sport to entertainment and natural history documentaries, over the past two years but has conceded that the appetite for 3D, in the UK at least, is not at all large. In an interview with The Radio Times, the BBC's head of 3D, Kim Shillinglaw, revealed that viewing figures even for the highest profile broadcasts had been disappointing. For example, the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony was broadcast in 3D yet only attracted 750,000 viewers despite being the single most popular broadcast on UK TV in the history of viewing figures (51.9 million people in Britain tuned in for some part of the broadcast).

Shillinglaw believes that 3D has so far failed to take off because it is not a straightforward process. "Watching 3D is quite a hassly experience in the home. You have got to find your glasses before switching on the TV. I think when people watch TV they concentrate in a different way. When people go to the cinema they go and are used to doing one thing -- I think that's one of the reasons that takeup of 3D TV has been disappointing."

However, according to the latest projected figures from Fitch Ratings, despite a roster of bona fide summer blockbusters shot in or adapted for the glasses-enhanced format, 2013 will be the first year since 2009 that box office takings for Hollywood 3D films will decline.

The BBC's decision follows US broadcaster ESPN's announcement in June that it was to close down its 3D sports channel due to lack of interest.