More 3D Joy: AT&T U-Verse to offer ESPN 3D right away, for a small fee

We’re just 2 short days away from the launch of the first full-on 3D HDTV channel in the US, and U-verse will be ready to rock and roll, if early reports are to be believed. The third broadcaster to announce it will carry ESPN 3D after DirecTV and Comcast already jumped into the party, it did stand out from the crowd by also announcing it will charge an extra fee to people requiring the 3D mojo on their systems, the only one to do so.

$10 per month adds the “3D Technology Package” to your U-verse viewing package — similar to Comcast and different from DirecTV’s approach, it will work with existing boxes but will require a switch to “3d” mode on the box, which is an interesting compromise without needing to replace existing boxes, which we like.

Color us a bit skeptical even so about the future of 3D TV in the mainstream, even if others think differently, including ESPN. Here’s to hoping this HD 3D trend doesn’t fade into the sunset in the near future, wasting millions of dollars in the process.