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Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Philip W. Dunton, Jr who wrote (40051)	4/22/1999 9:11:00 AM
From: Maya	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Broadcasters Mull Digital Technology By JEANNINE AVERSA Associated Press Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Going digital offers broadcasters unprecedented opportunities: better pictures, extra channels and new services such as customized news or stock quotes delivered to TVs or personal computers. The trick is to figure out what viewers want and what will be profitable. Broadcasters, who are just beginning to offer higher-quality digital television, are struggling to make these decisions. And that's the way federal regulators want it. They don't want to be picking digital TV winners and losers. Still, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Bill Kennard has an idea about what might drive digital TV, and it's more than giving viewers pretty pictures. ''I think it's going to be a lot about data. I think data is going to be the killer application for digital TV,'' Kennard told broadcasters attending their annual convention here. ''Just as the jet engine revolutionized air travel, I think that when the broadcast airwaves go digital, it's going to revolutionize television in this country.'' The technology enables broadcasters, for example, to let people watching a favorite show click an icon on digital TV sets or PCs (that can receive digital television) and obtain information on the actors, writers and past episodes. And, it offers new opportunities to make money. For instance, a viewer watching a music video could click on an on-screen icon and buy the CD. Stations would get a piece of the money from these sales, experts say. Or stations could share the revenues from ads that accompany online services. Jerry Yang, co-founder of the Internet company Yahoo! Inc. [Nasdaq:YHOO - news], believes broadcasters and Internet companies can and should work together to create new information products that people can get from their computers or TV sets. Some wonder whether in the future people watching an episode of NBC's ''Friends,'' for example, would be able to click on an on-screen icon and buy a dress like the one Monica is wearing in that episode. Tom Rogers, president of NBC Cable & Business Development, said that's something stations would probably try one day. Yang said people might be turned off by ''crass commercialism'' in their entertainment programming, but said it could work if done in a creative way that doesn't ruin the show. ''Broadcasters ... are well positioned to take advantage of the digital revolution as it continues to unfold,'' said former longtime CBS executive Howard Stringer, now chairman of Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE - news) of America. ''Digital television will afford unprecedented opportunities to create new content, customize it and re-express it in new formats.'' NBC, working with Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC - news), plans by the fall to give viewers who watch some digital versions of its Saturday morning teen shows the ability to participate in online chats and take interactive quizzes. But they'll need a digital TV set and a special set-top box or a PC that can receive digital television. National Association of Broadcasters President Edward Fritts said stations are still feeling their way. ''The stations that will do best are those that are creative, that have ingenuity and are willing to push the edges of the envelope,'' he said. Digital technology lets broadcasters squeeze more video and data into existing channel space, giving them numerous options. They could use it to provide high definition TV, which offers sharper pictures then standard digital. They could offer additional TV channels for sports or movies, or stock quotes and other data transmitted to home computers. Or a combination. The FCC requires digital broadcasters to continue offering at least one free broadcast. About 57 stations now offer digital broadcasts, mostly digital versions of the same programs they air in analog. More stations are to begin digital broadcasts May 1. By 2006, all stations must switch to the technology.