I am going to address this issue from the aspect of over-the-air broadcasting. I am doing this because television stations are different for those who receive over-the-air ("off air") programming as opposed to cable or satellite. Cable/Satellite subscribers may not see all of the channels and subchannels available off air from our local affiliates (one reason to invest in an inexpensive set of UHF/VHF rabbit ears).
There are seven basic broadcast channels in the Portland, Maine market. They consist of local affiliates for ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, MyNetwork, FOX and the CW. Fox 23 came into the game late so they can not broadcast high definition off-air until February 17, 2009, so they are essentially out of this argument for now.
Generally, all digital broadcast television stations have the ability to broadcast one HD program and one non-HD program simultaneously, or 4 non-HD (SD or "standard definition"), programs simultaneously. Since HD is the wave of the future, we can assume that the TV stations we're talking about will use the first scenario.
Below I will outline each local affiliate and their current setup. Keep in mind where we use the term HD, that means "when HD is actually available" which is a small part of their daily broadcast. Whether HD or SD, the broadcasts are digital, as opposed to analog.
ABC (WMTW) uses their primary channel for HD and their subchannel for "8 News Now" - a 24/7 News/Sports/Weather broadcast.
NBC (WCSH) uses their primary channel for HD and their subchannel for "NBC Weather Plus".
CBS (WGME) uses their primary channel for HD and their subchannel for the same programming in (SD)
PBS (WMEA, and others) - does the same as WGME except they recently broadcast two different local high school basketball games in SD at the same time during the State tournament.
MyNetwork (WPME) - uses the same scenario as WGME - the same programming on the primary and subchannel, one in HD, one in SD.
CW Network (WPXT) - Right now WPXT doesn't use a subchannel. They only broadcast one digital signal and use it for HD when HD programming is available to them, other than that it is SD. I don't know what their plans are for the future.
So currently, nobody in the Portland market is trailblazing when it comes to high definition. Not one of them can record the network feed in HD and play it back at a later date or time in HD. This means that if for some reason there is local breaking news or some other local programming taking precedent over the network feed (let's say CSI, for example is preempted), that station can not play it back to you or start it at a later time from the regularly scheduled broadcast time. They essentially act as a pass-through. The network beams it to them and they pass it through to you over their digital tower. They also can not broadcast, for the same reason, syndicated shows in HD. For example, sit-coms like "Two and a Half Men" are recorded in HD when they are produced, but since our local affiliates can't record/play back HD, they certainly can't show it in HD.
Maine PBS does do some local programming in HD. I believe there are a few shows on MBPN like The Maine Experience, or something like that, recorded and played back locally in HD. This is very limited. I have yet to see any other local affiliate do any local programs in HD. This includes the news.
Speaking of the news, in Southern Maine, if you have digital cable or satellite, an HDTV, and subscribe to the additional HD package from your provider, you have access to some Boston market channels. For example, WCVB (ABC) in Boston is available in Southern Maine. WCVB broadcasts their local news and locally produced programming like "Chronicle" in HD. Right now, this is the only station I know of in the Boston market doing this.
Granted, the equipment that a local affiliate needs to purchase to go full HD is very expensive. But I believe that whoever decides to take the plunge and do it will have the edge in the Portland television market.
The bottom line is once you get an HD TV, you are hooked on HD, and nothing else is as good. Many, including myself, would rather watch a television program that they "sort of like" in HD, rather than watch a program they might like a little more that is NOT in HD. Trust me, it's true. HD is that good.
Translate that into news and other local programming. All of the local TV news stations cover the same stories. Would you rather watch a full, rich, HD experience or watch it like you have since television was invented. The first Portland affiliate to broadcast their news in HD will win the ratings game, and therefore the revenue stream, by a landslide.
Right now, it is wide open in terms of who will get there first since none of them are leveraging HD to the extent that they could. Even WMTW, who could be broadcasting Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune in HD, doesn't because they are not willing to spend the extra dollars to do it. They don't realize what they would get back in advertising revenue if they were to take the plunge.
My opinion is that WGME (CBS) is in the best position to take the leap. Of all the networks, they are the only ones with local news (PBS, MyNetwork, and CW don't have their own local news) that have not already used up their subchannel. They could make the investment, record and play back HD video, have alternative programming on their subchannel, or do anything they want that they feel will expand their demographics.
Imagine being able to watch your local news in HD on WGME, or be able to switch to their subchannel and watch a sitcom, alternative world news, or a documentary.
This is just my opinion but like I said, whoever gets there first in terms of fully leveraging the functionality of High Definition both locally and from their corresponding network, will really make a huge dent in the Portland TV market and blaze a trail that the others will be hard pressed to compete with.
No comments:
Post a Comment