Francis Tellier, the chief executive of Host Broadcast Services (HBS), the host broadcaster of the 2014 Fifa World Cup, has said that his company’s production costs for the tournament will increase by 40 per cent in comparison with the 2010 World Cup if the same level of 3D coverage is provided.
HBS produced 25 games in 3D during the 2010 World Cup, but Tellier said production costs for the 2014 tournament would increase from €100 million ($129 million) to €140 million if the same approach was adopted, due to the lengthy travelling distances between Brazil’s host cities.
“In South Africa, we had two cars that crisscrossed the country to broadcast one match per day in 3D,” Tellier said, according to the AFP news agency. “In Brazil, it is not the same in terms of size [of the country], as such efforts… [would involve travel] on aeroplanes, every day.”
Niclas Ericson, Fifa’s director of television, added that a decision had not been made yet on the extent of 3D coverage to be produced for the 2014 World Cup.