45 stations now producing news in HD
Steve Safran April 28th, 2007
The last week saw seven more stations bring hi-def newscasts online, bringing the total number of local newscasts in HD to 45. From Broadcasting and Cable:
The new entries span a wide range of geography, affiliations and market size: WSOC, the Cox station and ABC affiliate in Charlotte, N.C (DMA #26).; KCBS and KCAL, the CBS owned-and-operated stations in Los Angeles (DMA #2); KFSN, the ABC O&O in Fresno, Calif. (DMA #55); KTVK, Belo’s independent station in Phoenix (DMA #13); and Cordillera stations and NBC affiliates KVOA Tucson (DMA #70) and WLEX Lexington, Ky. (DMA #63).
Makes me glad I’m off the air. I should only be seen in low-def.
6 Comments Add your own
1. thedetroitchannel | April 29th, 2007 at 8:15 am
is there any evidence that this is having a positive effect on ratings?
with all the talk of tight expense controls this looks like one of those you could take a wait-and-see on.
2. thomas | April 29th, 2007 at 10:40 am
I don’t see any reason to “wait ‘n see” on HD since you know its coming and do you really want to be the last one in the market to offer HD because I am almost certain that won’t have a positive effect on ratings.
3. theseattlechannel | April 29th, 2007 at 11:57 am
considering the quote in the article mentions that “loyal viewers” are the ones making comments to mgmt. i’ll ask again whether this is worth being out in front of.
coupled with the fact you point out that everyone will eventually have it , the $ would look better in hd sitting on the bottom line.
4. Cory Bergman | April 29th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
We just launched a full HD control room at KING a couple weeks ago. Yes, lots of work and investment, to say the least.
As far as the ratings question, who knows, but I personally believe it probably helps hedge against ratings loss. Seattle is a very HD-heavy market, and if my viewing habits are any indication, HD-viewers tend to gravitate (slightly) to HD versions of programming.
In other words, you wouldn’t want to be last to switch, as that could have an impact. Image-wise, HD has a progressive feel to it, which helps a station appear to be more \”with it.\” And the converse would be true for the last holdouts.
The danger here would be diverting attention from online efforts to HD. Online has much more revenue upside than HD, in my opinion, yet HD is a necessary investment. The trick is balancing the two, which I imagine would be a real challenge especially in smaller to mid-size markets. (Again, my personal opinions.)
5. thehoustonchannel | April 29th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
fair enough.
6. thomas | April 29th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I guess the one thing that I failed to touch in my first comment would be market; obviously if you are in a tiny market then chances are most don’t have HD sets to watch the HD broadcast anyways.
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