While DirecTV and the Yankees' YES network already had announced their intent to televise some games in 3D this season, the first two contests are coming up in a couple of weeks. They'll be televised, however, not from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y., but from Safeco Field in Seattle.
The first 3D telecasts are set for Saturday, July 10, and Sunday, July 11, when the defending World Series champs take on the Mariners on Seattle's home field. Weather shouldn't be a problem; the stadium sports a retractable roof.
There is a catch or three to seeing the games in 3D. You'll need a 3D-capable HDTV set, a DirecTV HD dish, and be a paying sub of the team's YES premium network.
Panasonic and DirecTV are co-sponsoring both 3D telecasts, which will be aired live within YES's regional footprint — which includes most of New York, Connecticut, parts of northern New Jersey, and the tip of northeastern Pennsylvania. The 3-D coverage will also be fed live on the other end of the country within the Mariners' regional footprint to include Washington, Oregon, Alaska and parts of Montana and Idaho.
The 3D content for the telecast will have to be produced separately from the HD/SD telecasts — in part, with the use of camera rigs from PACE and NEP Broadcasting (and the latter's SS3D remote truck).
DirecTV this month also began offering ESPN 3D and three other 3D venues.
