• FOX launches HDTV service.
• Digital broadcasts grow to reach 1,356 stations in 211 markets.
• NBC offers HD coverage of Summer Olympics from Athens, Greece.
• UPN ups HDTV offerings to five hours per week.
Over the last two years, broadcasters significantly have added to the amount of high-definition television programming they carry in their primetime lineups. In 2004, all four of the largest television networks – CBS, NBC, FOX and ABC – produced and delivered a significant portion of their primetime lineups in HDTV.
FOX Network was the latest to join the HDTV ranks in late 2004. Previously, it had opted to deliver digital content in widescreen EDTV but began delivering fully HDTV with its coverage to accommodate such major sporting events as the World Series, the NFL regular season and the NFL playoffs, including the Super Bowl.
Although most news programming and popular reality TV series still are produced in standard definition, the majority of programming produced on film is now available from most of the top networks in HDTV.
New Stations Come on Board:
Between February 2004 and February 2005, 201 new television stations had joined the digital transition nationwide. At the end of January 2005, there were 1,356 stations operating digital broadcasts in 211 markets, making at lease one DTV station available in virtually every market in the country. For the latest DTV station count, see www.NAB.org.
FCC Limits Requirements For Digital “Must-Carry” Rules:
Looking to ensure cable households have easy access to local over-the-air broadcast content, the FCC expanded its so-called “must-carry” orders to cable television operators to include digital television stations as well. However, the FCC acknowledged that cable operators have bandwidth restrictions and therefore did not require cable operators to carry both a broadcaster’s analog and digital channel, simultaneously. In early 2005, the FCC also ruled that cable operators will not be required to carry anything but a broadcaster’s “primary” digital channel, meaning that if a broadcaster elects to use his new digital technology to deliver “multicasts” – up to five different digital channels delivered in the 6 MHz bandwidth of his broadcast spectrum – the cable operator will not be asked to carry the ancillary programming.
The FCC concluded that such carriage was not necessary to the survival of over-the-air TV, and was not tailored sufficiently narrowly to justify the expansion of must-carry.
Cable Operators Increase Broadcast HDTV Carriage:
The number of digital broadcast stations cable operators are carrying climbed to 454 in 2004, an almost five-fold increase since January 2003, when 92 local digital broadcast stations were carried, according to National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) statistics.
ABC Focuses on Sports:
ABC continued to offer many of its film-based primetime programming in 720p high-definition format. It also contributed a slate of major sporting events in high-def, including the Monday Night Football games and the NFL Wild Card Playoff games.
In January 2005, ABC provided comprehensive coverage of the second inauguration of George W. Bush in HDTV, the first time the swearing in of a U.S. president was broadcast in HDTV. The coverage began with a special three-hour edition of "Good Morning America," making that show the first network news program broadcast in HDTV, the network said.
CBS Remains Primetime HD King:
CBS continued its HDTV broadcasting leadership role by offering a majority of the network’s primetime lineup in the 1080i HDTV format. The network also produced a number of special live events in HDTV, including the NFL’s 2004 AFC playoffs. During the regular season, CBS broadcast three NFL games per week, giving most American households access to at least one CBS HD NFL game each Sunday or Saturday afternoon.
NBC Expands HD Lineup:
NBC’s expanded HDTV 1080i offerings in 2004 included the 2004 Summer Olympics from Athens, Greece. It also continued to produce “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” in high-definition and in 2005 also will produce “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “Saturday Night Live” in high-definition.
The WB Increases HD Service:
The WB, owned by Time Warner, began offering nearly two-thirds of its fall schedule in HDTV in 2004. The network also added Dolby Digital sound. The network – which launched HDTV in 2002 – offered the following programs in HD: “Everwood, ”“Gilmore Girls,” “One Tree Hill,” “Smallville,” “The Mountain,” “Jack & Bobby,” “What I Like About You,” “Commando Nanny” and “Reba.”
UPN Embraces HDTV:
In the fall of 2004 UPN expanded its menu of HDTV programming to five hours per week, encompassing half of its primetime lineup. Shows offered in HD included “Star Trek: Enterprise,” “Veronica Mars,” “Kevin Hill,” “One on One,” “Girlfriends,” “Half and Half” and “Second Time Around.”
Fox Moves to HDTV:
Fox Network launched its HDTV service in 2004 using the 720p/60 frames per second picture format. Although select filmed television series were offered in HDTV by Fox, the thrust of its participation focused on sporting events such as: Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, playoffs and World Series; regular- and post-season NFL coverage including Super Bowl XXXIX and the Daytona 500. During the regular season, News Corp.'s Fox Sports produced up to six NFL games per week, which was the most of any network.
PBS Digital Continues to Grow:
As of October 2004, 292 PBS member stations were offering digital broadcast services, covering 92.97 percent of all U.S. TV households. The PBS network routinely supplies more than 20 programs in HDTV per month, and in some markets also is offering multicast SD programs and enhanced interactive content, powered by the Internet.
Additional Uses for DTV Spectrum Emerge:
Testifying to the versatility of the digital broadcast platform, some broadcasters around the country have elected to transmit multiple channels of standard definition video in the same amount of spectrum now used for analog broadcasting (6 MHz). These secondary channels are used typically for around-the-clock weather, traffic or sports updates, but occasionally the technique is used to broadcast significant additional content, including multiple games of basketball tournaments or highly-localized news content within a broadcaster's market.
Still to come are datacasting services, which promise to deliver new formats of text and graphics over the broad bandwidth of the television broadcast channel. These services could be used to provide ancillary news or other information in addition to offering interactive add-ons to the standard video broadcast.
