Summary

DTV Plus partnered with WRAL-DT to deliver the first local datacast of companion content alongside gavel-to-gavel HDTV coverage of the 2000 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. The datacasts, received via antenna, provided Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville viewers with AP news, poll results, and local political coverage embedded in the DTV broadcast signal.

Source document circa 2000 preserved as-is

Monday, July 31, 2000

DTV Plus Datacasts Political Convention Coverage
First Local Datacast of Companion Content Demonstrates Power of DTV

Raleigh, NC -- July 31, 2000 -- DTV Plus has teamed with WRAL-DT to datacast companion content to accompany the gavel-to-gavel HDTV coverage of the two major political conventions. DTV Plus will datacast local and national political news from WRAL Online, HYPERLINK http://www.wral.com www.wral.com, bringing a greater depth of coverage than ever before possible. Beginning July 31, WRAL-DT will provide gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Republican National Convention in HDTV. This special HDTV coverage will span four days, ending with coverage of the closing session on the evening of August 3. Gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles will also be broadcast on WRAL-Digital August 14-17. DTV Plus will datacast companion content throughout both conventions.

Datacast content will include local political coverage produced by WRAL, national news coverage from the Associated Press, Mason-Dixon poll results, images from the conventions, and more. All of the data will be delivered as part of the WRAL-DT signal and can be received by way of an antenna. Residents in the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville market equipped to receive the datacasts will be able to access the content from their personal computer.

"This in-depth data coverage will all be delivered in the same DTV signal that brings viewers crystal clear pictures and CD-quality sound,î said Sam Matheny, DTV Plus Vice President and General Manager. "Datacasting this companion content adds a whole new dimension to the depth of coverage a television station can offer. We believe this is a great use of the DTV bandwidth and is the future of television news coverage."

DTV Plus is aggregating the web-based content for local datacast to augment the HDTV coverage provided by NHK. WRAL-DT is working with the Japanese television network NHK to bring HDTV convention coverage to the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville market. NHK is producing the gavel-to-gavel coverage at each convention site, then transmitting the signal to WRAL-Digital and other stations via digital satellite.

About DTV Plus
DTV Plus is a division of Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc., and is devoted to developing and deploying a nation-wide datacasting network. DTV Plus utilizes satellite and digital television technologies to deliver on its vision.

Contact Information

Sam Matheny, Vice President and General Manager
Phone: 919-850-4540
http://www.dtvplus.com