Digital Video being delayed by governments, again. NBC can't get tower permits...................................................
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DIGITAL MAY BE DELAYED
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Electronic Media via NewsEdge Corporation :
WASHINGTON -- In New York City and
Chicago, NBC may have difficulty meeting its
commitment to the Federal Communications
Commission to roll out digital service in the
fall, said NBC President and CEO Bob Wright
last week.
As part of the agency's watershed decision
last year to give broadcasters digital
spectrum for free, the industry agreed to
begin offering digital service in the top 10
markets this November.
Mr. Wright said NBC's rollout in the nation's
first and third largest markets may be
pushed back because of tower siting
problems, including delays in receiving local
and state approvals for towers. He said the
network expects to meet the deadline in
other top 10 markets.
'I think in most of these cases we'll
probably make it [the deadline], but it is
difficult. New York City is very hard,'' he
said.
Mr. Wright said there are only two places in
New York where TV signals can be broadcast
from: the World Trade Center and the Empire
State Building, and the latter 'doesn't have
sufficient capacity,'' he said.
During a speech last week before the
Washington Cable Club, Mr. Wright
emphasized that the FCC's rules allow
broadcasters to defer the deadline under the
types of circumstances the network has
encountered.
On a related note, Mr. Wright said NBC will
probably offer high-definition television
programming during prime-time hours and
multiplexed digital programming during other
dayparts.
Addressing other issues, Mr. Wright said the
emergence of new broadcast networks in
recent years -- such as UPN and The WB --
and the anticipated introduction of others --
such as Paxson Communications' Pax Net --
is causing a fractionalization of the
broadcast audiences.
For example, the average viewer in 1985
could choose among 18 channels, but the
average viewer today chooses among 49, he
said. One-quarter of U.S. households receive
more than 60 channels, and 260 cable and
broadcast networks have sought recognition
from Nielsen Media Research.
Mr. Wright predicted that advertisers will
respond to these trends by targeting their
marketing to smaller audiences with national
reach. But, he said, NBC's goal is to offer
programming with a broad appeal.
'In a segmented, fractured environment --
and [in] an increasingly fractured culture --
universal distribution becomes increasingly
more valuable,'' he said.
<<Electronic Media -- 03-02-98, p. 34>>
[Copyright 1998, Crain Communications] |
