Sony is tipped to use the 2010 CES in Las Vegas to announce a new 3D TV Channel in partnership with Imax and Discovery Communications. The station could be picked up by Foxtel if it proves popular, say Sony insiders attending this years event.

Sony is tipped to use the 2010 CES Show in Las Vegas to announce a new 3D TV Channel in partnership with Imax and Discovery Communications. The station could be picked up by Foxtel if it proves popular say Sony insiders attending this year’s event.

The joint venture will be announced at a Sony press conference being held at the CES Show

According to the New York Times, the companies will own equal stakes in the channel, according to one of the people with knowledge of the deal, who requested anonymity because the channel had not been announced.

Discovery Communications, which operates the Discovery Channel, TLC and other cable channels, will distribute the channel, which has a 2011 start date. It is expected to showcase a mix of 3D content, including entertainment and sports. It will also show some of the natural history programming that Discovery is well known for.

Also moving into 3D sport is ESPN who will debut “ESPN 3D” in June 2010. The channel will show a minimum of 85 live 3D events during the first year. USA Today reported that ESPN is committing to the network through June 2011.

The ESPN network will only operate when live events are happening. The Discovery/Imax/Sony venture will be a full 24-hour channel.

Companies like Discovery, Imax, Sony, and the Walt Disney Company, which controls ESPN, are trying to place themselves at the forefront of an emerging technology, much as media companies did in the HDTV arms race. 3D televisions may not be mainstream for many years, but “every TV manufacturer is putting on a 3-D push,” Jason Oxman, a spokesman for the Consumer Electronics Association, told the BBC.