Is a move like this positive or negative for cable equipment suppliers? Does it perhaps reduce the need for DWDM? Maybe it's for the better anyway as they can service better internet and telephone with out the loss of bandwidth to HDTV? Still, it would seem that there would be need for many more nodes if they had greater system demand for HDTV. Regards, Mark
AT&T, NBC Sign High-Definition Deal
By Karen J. Bannan
June 11, 1999 10:40 AM ET
The squabble between cable operators and over-the-air broadcasters over digital must-carry was slightly quelled this week. AT&T Broadband & Internet Services and NBC struck a multiyear deal that includes high-definition TV transmission. The announcement gives AT&T access to NBC programming - including the next five Olympic games - and AT&T gains carriage for NBC's digital signal over AT&T's systems.
Under the agreement, NBC gives AT&T retransmission consent for all of NBC's 13 stations through December 31, 2008. In consideration for the consent, AT&T will transmit NBC's digital programming, including high-definition TV (HDTV), over all of its systems that have been upgraded to 750-megahertz Hybrid Fiber-Coax cable.
NBC has the right to choose which version of HDTV it will broadcast; however, AT&T still retains the right to down-convert the content, reducing the horizontal resolution to an undisclosed resolution, said Leo J. Hindery, AT&T's president and chief executive.
The move is an important one for both sides of the debate, said Gerry Kaufhold, a senior analyst at Cahners In-Stat Group. "It's a huge breakthrough. This lets the cable guys and the broadcast guys win," he said. "The cable companies aren't giving away their bandwidth like they might if a must-carry rule was put into effect, and the broadcasters make sure their digital signals are carried."
The Federal Communications Commission has shied away from instituting a must-carry ruling, asking instead for both parties to work together toward a solution. CBS inked a similar deal late last year with Time Warner Cable.
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