(Oslo, Norway) Telenor Satellite today announced the start of its first live 3D transmissions in the Nordic region –providing the “Panasonic 3D experience” with live coverage by Eurosport of Roland-Garros, the French Open tennis tournament, which runs from May 24 to June 6. This first Nordic 3D transmission is the result of co-operation between Nordic pay-television operator Canal Digital, leading European sports broadcaster Eurosport and global consumer-electronics manufacturer Panasonic.

Eurosport is broadcasting Roland Garros live in both standard- and high-definition across 58 European markets (excl. France) and has launched an extra Eurosport channel to transmit live 3D broadcasts from the centre court of Roland-Garros via the THOR 6 satellite at 1 degree West. Telenor Satellite will turn around the signal from Paris and uplink to THOR 6 for distribution in the Nordic territories.

“3DTV provides a new level in engaging the viewer with TV content and is shaping the way we may watch and experience TV in the future,” said Cato Halsaa, Vice President and CEO of Telenor Satellite. “Satellite is a perfect platform for transmitting high-quality 3DTV signals because its ubiquity of coverage delivers 100% reach in chosen markets while its available spectrum provides unrivalled potential for DTH operators to immediately launch new services, like 3DTV, with unlimited capacity constraints.”

The Eurosport 3DTV signal on THOR 6 is encrypted and will be made available only to a closed group.

About 1 degree West

The 1 degree West orbital location, operated by Telenor Satellite and Intelsat, offers one of the fastest growing platforms for video distribution and serves more than 15 million TV households in the Nordic region and throughout Central and Eastern Europe.