DTV News for 12-8-2003

[Lee Wood]

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em> DTV News for 12-8-2003 </em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>
<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> 1,119 Days Until the Scheduled End of Analog Television Broadcasting </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>
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<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> Suddenly It's Hip To Spectrum-Split [Paid Subscription Required] </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>
<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em> When ABC's Preston Padden and Sinclair's David Smith talked up digital multicasting in 1997, the suggestion landed both in hot water in then HDTV-crazed Washington. It also prompted other broadcasters to accuse them of selling out high-def. This fall, though, news that NBC and ABC are working with their affiliates to develop locally oriented multicasting services generated hardly a ripple.... </em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>
(Broadcasting & Cable)<br>
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA340330?verticalid=311&industry=Top+of+the+Week&industryid=1024&pubdate=12/08/2003">www.broadcastingcable.com...12/08/2003</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>
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<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> Must-Carry, But Through the Back Door [Paid Subscription Required] </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>
<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em> The National Association of Broadcasters and the Association for Maximum Service Television have cooked up a complicated plan that would give a station the power to force a local cable system to carry either the old analog signal or the new digital one but not both. That's the theory, anyway. Under current rules, stations can invoke must-carry for only the analog signal.... </em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>
(Broadcasting & Cable)<br>
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA340331?verticalid=311&industry=Top+of+the+Week&industryid=1024&pubdate=12/08/2003">www.broadcastingcable.com...12/08/2003</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>
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<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> Multicast Must-Carry Is No Answer [Paid Subscription Required] </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>
<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em> Lowell Paxson's Airtime (Nov. 24) repeats the sentiment that dual, multicast must-carry is "necessary to ensure a successful [digital] transition." What it does not answer is why. No doubt, compelling high-definition digital program services over the air and by cable are necessary to persuade Americans to buy digital receivers.... </em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>
(Broadcasting & Cable)<br>
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA340317?verticalid=311&industry=Editorials&industryid=1034&pubdate=12/08/2003">www.broadcastingcable.com...12/08/2003</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>
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<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> Digital transition in the US - and public duty </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>
<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em> Adelstein Addresses DTV Transition, Public Interest </em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>
(Digital Television Group)<br>
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/world/-adelstein_fcc.htm">www.dtg.org.uk/news/world...in_fcc.htm</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>
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<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> Fox Sports Plays HD [Paid Subscription Required] </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>
<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em> Fox Sports Net plunged into the HDTV business last week with Time Warner Cable, launching high-definition programming across six networks that will cover 96 games over the next several months. The rollout marked FSN's first foray into HDTV production for any of its regional sports networks. And it marks the largest mass deployment of regional HD content in the cable industry.... </em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>
(Multichannel News)<br>
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA340101?verticalid=316&industry=Broadband+Week&industryid=1071&pubdate=12/08/2003">www.multichannel.com/arti...12/08/2003</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>
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<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> HDTV Key to Staving Off DBS [Paid Subscription Required] </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>
<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em> Anaheim, Calif. -- News Corp.'s pending acquisition of a controlling interest in DirecTV parent Hughes Electronics should be a wake-up call for the cable industry to push new services like HDTV. </em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>
(Multichannel News)<br>
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA340278?display=Breaking+News">www.multichannel.com/arti...aking+News</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>
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<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> Execs: Murdoch Move Should Boost HDTV [Paid Subscription Required] </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>
<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em> Anaheim, Calif.