Spanish channel announces 'world's first 3-D TV series'

Spanish TV firm Antena 3 will shoot an entire season of one of its television series entirely in 3-D in what it said would be a world first.

In a statement, it said the second season of "Los Protegidos", or "The Protected", its hit fantasy drama about a group of people with special powers, would be taped entirely in 3-D.

Up until now 3-D content for television -- which require special glasses for viewing -- has been limited to single episodes of series, or one-off events such as concerts and sports matches.

Each 3-D episode of the series would take between 5-7 days longer to tape than a conventional episode, which takes on average just ten days to tape, it added.

"'Los Protegidos' is especially well suited to be taped using this technique because of its content and special effects," the statement said.

The first season of the series, which made its debut in January, had 13 episodes. It captured an average of 3,349,000 viewers per episode for an audience share of 18.1 percent.

Antena 3's audience share dropped to 11.5 percent in April, its lowest ever monthly rating, according to ratings agency Barlovento, as it has lost viewers to rivals and specialty digital channels.

Antena 3 said the first episode of the second season of the series would be screened at a Madrid cinema two days before it aired nationwide on television. The station did not provide dates.

(c) 2010 AFP