ESPN to kill 3-D broadcasts by end of year

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ESPN says it will stop broadcasting in 3-D by the end of the year, dealing a major blow to a technology that was launched with great fanfare but has been limping along for years.

The sports network says there were too few viewers to make 3-D broadcasts worth it. It didn't say exactly how many it had, but the number was "extremely limited and not growing."

ESPN 3D was one of nine 3-D channels that launched in the years following the late 2009 release of James Cameron's "Avatar." But the TV sets required viewers to wear glasses, and many people felt the 3-D effect didn't add much.

TV makers have turned their focus to increasing the resolution their sets to "Ultra HDTV" and getting broadcasts to take advantage of that.