Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : HDTV: Television of the future here now -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cordob who wrote (53)	4/30/2002 4:04:32 PM
From: Ron	Respond to of 152

Most Commercial Broadcasters Will Miss Deadline for Digital Television By STEPHEN LABATON ASHINGTON, April 28 — Another milestone in the nation's tortured transition to digital television is about to be missed. Almost three-quarters of the commercial broadcasters that were supposed to be offering a digital signal by Wednesday will fail to make the deadline. The delay is a further indication that the federally mandated transition to digital broadcasting will take longer than the planners had expected in the mid-1990's. But the missed deadline comes as no surprise. Hundreds of stations have been filing requests for extensions recently, citing a variety of financial and technical reasons. A report issued last week by the General Accounting Office found that 74 percent of the stations that were supposed to be emitting a digital signal by the May 1 regulatory deadline would be unable to do so. The report said most of the delinquent stations had cited the high cost of new technology. For stations in transition, the expenses averaged 63 percent of annual revenue for a technology that adds nothing discernable to the bottom line. The report also noted the relatively low consumer interest caused by the high prices of digital TV sets and a host of technical issues like tower constructions. Despite the difficulties, 95 percent of the major network affiliates in the top 30 markets are already offering digital broadcasting, and their signals reach about half of the population. But the failure of the smaller broadcasters is symbolic of a much larger nagging problem of aligning the technical and financial interests of a handful of industries — broadcasters, programmers, cable operators and electronic equipment makers — to make digital television accessible at affordable prices to consumers. "It's a very complicated transition with lots of moving parts," said Rick Chessen, the chairman of a regulatory task force supervising the government's oversight of the conversation to digital television. Digital television, which Congress and policy makers have been promoting the last six years, offers crisper images and sound, reduced interference and the prospect of viewers communicating through the set much the way they now do on the Internet. But transforming TV from analog to digital has public-policy significance beyond pretty pictures and greater viewer participation. Policy makers of varying approaches agree that, by using a far smaller sliver of the electronic spectrum, digital significantly frees the airwaves for more productive use by other industries, including wireless communications, whose proponents are clamoring for more licenses. Once digital penetrates 85 percent of the nation's viewing market, the law requires broadcasters to surrender their analog-spectrum licenses back to the government to be reissued to other commercial ventures at auction. As a result, analysts and policy makers agree that the longer the digital transition, the greater the economic overhang. "Spectrum is critical for us to have economic growth," said Blair Levin, a former top official at the Federal Communications Commission who is a regulatory analyst at Legg Mason. "To the extent it is tied up, it represents a huge drag on the economy." The rollout of digital TV has stalled over many uncertainties about how to do so profitably. Broadcasters, particularly smaller ones, see little or no financial benefit yet in offering digital signals. Consumers cannot find high-definition television sets at affordable prices. Programmers have moved slowly in offering shows of digital quality. Cable operators have only just begun, in small pockets, to transmit digital signals. Hoping to break the logjam, Michael K. Powell, the F.C.C. chairman, has called for the major industrial players to impose their own voluntary deadlines. "You will get on this train in the right way, or it will run you over," he said this month at the annual conference of the National Association of Broadcasters. Mr. Powell urged the four major networks and other major programmers to digitally broadcast at least half of their prime-time shows by this fall. He asked cable and satellite companies to carry some digital programs by the beginning of next year at no extra cost to subscribers. And he proposed deadlines over the next four years for television makers to increase their production of sets that include digital tuners. Others long engaged in the debate say that Mr. Powell's proposal is not enough, and that in some instances it asks industry players to do little more than they had previously pledged. While there is no momentum on Capitol Hill for the imposition of sanctions on tardy industry players or subsidies to encourage faster transition, some lawmakers are calling for legislation to prod a faster conversion. "Our digital policy is a mess, and in the absence of the federal government intervening with a comprehensive policy, the American consumer is unlikely to ever receive the full benefits of the digital revolution," said Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, who is the ranking Democrat on a House subcommittee on telecommunications. "Voluntary approaches don't work. A voluntary policy is what got us to today's mess. What we've wound up with now is the broadcast industry and cable industry engaged in spectrum hostage-taking with no end in sight, and no relief for the benefit of consumers." Federal rules required the 119 largest network affiliates to begin transmitting some digital programs by May 1999. That deadline has largely been met. By Wednesday, 1,121 smaller stations were supposed to be in compliance, but nearly three-quarters will fail to meet the deadline. But industry officials said that they expected most of the broadcasters to be in compliance by the end of the year. "We consider this a short-term issue affecting mostly small and medium market broadcasters," said Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company \|

To: cordob who wrote (53)	4/4/2003 8:44:34 AM
From: Ron	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152

Will People Pay Up For HDTV? Cable, Satellite Firms Bet Maybe BY REINHARDT KRAUSE INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Most Americans already pay to get TV via cable or satellite. But if they want cable and satellite firms to provide ultrasharp "high-definition" programs, they'll have to ante up even more. The Disneys, Discoverys and others that provide new HD content increasingly are seeking more money from cable and satellite TV firms. "We definitely understand that there's been a change," said Stephanie Campbell, a senior vice president at satellite firm DirecTV. "The companies providing HD content are going to want to be paid for it. So we'll probably have to charge for it." The good news: people will get more HD content to watch. The bad news: HDTV is for affluent consumers, and it may stay that way for some time. Costs for HD-ready TV sets still hover around $1,500. Even so, some industry players are upbeat. "The price drops of digital TVs, along with competition between cable and satellite to retain their best customers, will drive the adoption," said Mark Cuban. Cuban owns the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and co-founded HDNet, which airs an HD mix of sports, films and concerts. Five Times Sharper Touted as the next big thing in TV for more than 15 years, HDTV uses digital signals to deliver ultrasharp pictures. HD pictures are five times sharper than what we see today. Cable and satellite companies are key players because more than 85% of U.S. households get pay TV. Cable once dominated, but satellite companies now have about 20% of the market. Consumers pony up anywhere from $40 to $70 a month for digital cable and satellite TV services. It's unclear if cable and satellite firms will throw in HD as part of the packages or charge more. "That's one of the marketing challenges," said Bruce Leichtman, president of researcher LRG. Cable and satellite firms distribute content provided by others. So far, there hasn't been much HD content. HD Sports But more is on the way. ESPN, owned by Disney, (DIS) launched an HD sports channel on March 30. Five or so HD channels are available today via cable or satellite. Some are provided at no extra charge. As more channels get shown in HD format, though, providers like Disney will want more money. Comcast Corp., (CMCSK) the biggest cable firm, doesn't intend to make customers pay extra for HD channels, says Dave Watson, executive vice president of marketing. But it charges a $4 monthly rental fee for HD-ready set-top boxes. "We are concerned about doing too much a la carte pricing," he said. "We want to simplify the HD offering, embed it in digital plans. That way, we think, demand will increase." Many company strategies, though, are in flux. Keith Coccazza, a Time Warner Cable (AOL) spokesman, says his firm is "investigating offering an HD-programming tier for some incremental price." Time Warner plans trials in 60 to 90 days, he says. HD channels are available to 93% of Time Warner's 10.9 million customers. But just 76,000 homes lease HD-ready set-top boxes. In many cases, cable and satellite firms provide the HD versions of Time Warner's HBO and Showtime for free as part of a package. Littleton, Colo.-based EchoStar, a satellite service, offers movie buffs an HD pay-per-view channel. It also charges $7.99 monthly for Discovery's HD channel. DirecTV, part of General Motors' Hughes Electronics subsidiary, offers HDNet to subscribers for free. In January, DirecTV launched an HD pay-per-view movie channel. Cable firm Charter Communications (CHTR) in February rolled out a $10 monthly HD rate plan that includes Discovery, HDNet and movies. (COX) To get HDTV, customers must first buy an HD-ready TV. Then they must purchase digital TV service for about $45 a month. Premium channels or extra set-top boxes hike monthly charges. HD channel fees can lift bills more. HD content could be another marketing tool for cable firms, says Martin Franks, an executive vice president at Viacom Inc.'s CBS network. (VIA) "Two of cable's business problems are churn and competition from satellite," he said. "What I've pointed out is that our HD programming could be compelling programming that reduces churn." CBS was the first commercial network to provide substantial HD content. It broadcasts nearly all its prime-time and sports programs in high definition. EchoStar (DISH) offers a national version of CBS in HD format. To get it, EchoStar subscribers must buy a programming package that adds $4.99 to the monthly tab. Despite the EchoStar deal, CBS still wants to partner with cable, Franks says. Cable has an edge over satellite firms in providing local stations in HD format. One problem for both sectors is limits on network capacity. Neither EchoStar nor DirecTV beams any local channel in HD format. Each carries 50 to 60 local channels using digital signals, but not HD. Under federal rules, cable firms must carry all local channels in analog format. That includes stations owned by the big four broadcast networks and affiliates. Cable firms say their networks don't have enough bandwidth to carry all local channels in both formats. And the local stations don't have to end analog broadcasts until 2006 or later. One holdup to wider local carriage is that the networks, in particular CBS, are seeking fees for HD content, says Robert Sachs, president of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. Comcast, for example, doesn't have a deal with Viacom. But competition from satellite may pressure cable firms. In May, EchoStar plans to launch a new satellite. It will give EchoStar more bandwidth to deliver local channels and HD content. 'Advantage Satellite' "As a general statement, HDTV will be advantage satellite," Charlie Ergen, EchoStar's chairman and chief executive, told analysts in an earnings conference call. Ergen says EchoStar will focus on bringing HD fare to markets where cable hasn't upgraded. He says EchoStar will carry national HD channels, such as HBO, Discovery or ESPN. Similar to its CBS deal, EchoStar plans to air national channels of the major networks in HD format, but not all local stations. In early 2001, satellite firms surprised cable rivals by partnering with consumer electronics companies on HDTV products. DirecTV plans to roll out an HD digital video recorder later this year by teaming up with Tivo Inc. (TIVO) The device would let subscribers pause and rewind HD movies. EchoStar plans to soon roll out a low-cost, HD monitor that works with its satellite dishes, says SG Cowen analyst Tom Watts. Five million digital sets are in use. Most people, though, bought them to watch wide-screen movies in DVD format, analysts say. As digital TV prices fall to about $1,000, analysts say, more consumers will take interest.