High-Definition TV Is Dealt
A Setback by ABC's Plans
By KYLE POPE
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
NEW YORK -- In a sign that the future of
high-definition television remains further off than the
hype, ABC Television and Sinclair Broadcast Group
Inc. said their first moves into digital TV probably won't
include HDTV's best-quality sound and pictures.
Instead, Preston Padden, president of Walt Disney
Co.'s ABC network, said ABC is leaning toward using
the digital spectrum assigned by the government earlier
this year to broadcast several new channels, in addition
to its current network flagship. Separately,
Baltimore-based Sinclair said it has already made the
decision to forgo the highest-quality HDTV and instead
plans to offer several digital channels. With 29 television
stations in 21 markets, Sinclair is one of the biggest
TV-station operators in the country.
ABC, like all of the nation's other TV networks and
local stations, is set to decide this year how to tackle the
digital future.
Under rules set earlier this year by the Federal
Communications Commission, broadcasters can choose
between showing a single, top-quality HDTV picture, or
splitting up their spectrum to show several new digital
channels with pictures just slightly inferior to HDTV.
Though the FCC initially mandated that all TV stations
broadcast digital signals by 2006, it has since backed
away from that deadline. As of now, only network
affiliates in the country's 10 biggest markets have to
begin broadcasting in digital by the end of next year.
Converter Can Be Added
Television-set makers have been lobbying for the
HDTV option, on the theory that it will spur the sale of
expensive, high-quality digital sets. The digital signals
ABC and Sinclair are considering offering first could be
received by adding a digital converter to an existing TV
set at a modest cost. HDTV, by contrast, requires an
entire new TV set that initially could cost $5,000 or
more.
Broadcasters in recent months have come to doubt the
allure of high-definition television, and have questioned
how long it will take consumers to buy digital sets that
will enable them to see the new pictures. Many are now
leaning towards some combination of better digital
television -- though less than high-definition -- and a set
of new channels and services.
"Our share of viewing will continue to erode as long as
we remain a single channel in an expanding multichannel
marketplace," Mr. Padden said Tuesday. "Conversion
to digital will provide us with a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to reinvent ourselves." Although Mr.
Padden said ABC hasn't yet made a final decision on its
digital-television plans, his comments Tuesday, made at
a digital-television conference here, marked the
network's most extensive public discussion on the issue
so far.
A Lucrative Market
Mr. Padden said ABC hopes to tap into the $30 billion
in annual subscription fees that now go to the cable and
satellite industries. The network, he said, also is
considering marrying the TV with the Internet, and using
digital technology that could enable viewers to
communicate with their TV. "With a click of a
remote-control button, customers will be able to tell us if
they want a free sample of a new headache remedy or
wish to test-drive a new car," he said.
None of the other networks -- Westinghouse Electric
Corp.'s CBS Inc., General Electric Co.'s NBC and
News Corp.'s Fox Broadcasting Inc. -- have formalized
their digital plans yet.
As one of the largest owners of network affiliates,
Sinclair's decision to broadcast several digital channels
instead of a single high-definition one is likely to be
followed by other groups around the country. "We've
yet to conclude where anybody makes any more money
on a day-to-day basis as an HDTV broadcaster," said
David Smith, Sinclair's president.
Mr. Smith said Sinclair will roll out a test of so-called
multicasting in Baltimore early next year. The digital
demonstration is aimed at proving that programmers can
use their digital spectrum to show several different
channels, including local sports and news. |
