[Hollywood Reporter]

At this still-early stage of a 3D TV rollout, filling a schedule with 3D programming is a challenge.

“Hollywood is part of the answer, but at 15-25 3D films a year and with long lead times it cannot keep pace with the demand,” said producer, director and 3D advocate James Cameron. “The opportunity is with live events and sports and scripted TV which have a short post cycle and can deliver many more hours per year of high quality entertainment.”

But if more sports and other live events are to be shot and broadcast in 3D, the industry also needs to adopt a new business model. Currently, the same event is typically covered by separate 2D and 3D shoots–and Cameron and Vince Pace, co-founders of Cameron | Pace Group, advocate merging the two productions. “There is no business model that makes any sense for two separate productions,” Cameron said. “There is no technical reason why you need to do that. There is no empirical evidence that faster cutting is necessarily better even in 2D. This is something that needs to get sorted out by the people in charge creatively.”

Steve Schklair, CEO of 3Ality Technica, shares a similar opinion, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “There aren’t enough camera positions to support two complete broadcasts, and you can’t do two separate (broadcast trucks). There just cannot be two completely separate broadcasts. That doesn’t work with any sort of economic model, at least not now.”

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Meanwhile, a number of new agreements are spurring on 3D activity. Cameron | Pace Group has struck an alliance with Grass Valley, a leading broadcast equipment manufacturer.

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In a separate development, camera maker Arri announced that the first production prototypes of its Alexa M—a modular version of its popular Alexa cameras—have been shipped to Cameron and Pace. Earlier this year, CPG announced a strategic collaboration with Arri.

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See the full story here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/james-cameron-3d-broadcasting-sports-237387