According to the latest forecast by a UK based publisher and conference company, 3D TVs will find their way in to 20 million homes worldwide within the next five years.

Informa Telecoms & Media predicts that 3D TV manufacturers, broadcasters, content owners, satellite operators and platforms will fuel the growth of 3D TVs such that by 2015, about 1.6% of all homes across the world will own one.

The company predicts that North America will have the highest number of homes with 3D TVs (about 9.2 million) followed by Western Europe with 6.8 million and Asia Pacific with 4.6 million. “This summer’s World Cup will provide an ideal platform for 3D programming, for example, FIFA and Sony have already announced that they will be showing 25 matches in 3D” said Informa’s Principal Analyst Simon Murray.

He also added that the World Cup was the most significant platform to showcase new broadcast technology and that it could “potentially do for 3D TV, what Avatar did for 3D movies.”