Audio Video News

High definition television will get a big boost this fall, thanks to an agreement announced July 12 by EchoStar Communications Corporation and CBS Television, a unit of Viacom Inc.

Beginning in mid-September, the direct satellite broadcaster will beam CBS high-def programming via its DISH Network to subscribers in 16 markets served by CBS owned-and-operated stations, reaching a potential total of 35% of the American TV viewership. DISH Network subscribers with a "local channel package" in one of the 16 markets (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Dallas, Austin, Miami, Minneapolis, Denver, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Salt Lake City, and Green Bay, WI) will get the HD feeds free of charge, according to the announcement. Customers in areas served by CBS affiliate stations that agree to allow the HD transmissions into their areas will also get the service free of charge or for a "nominal monthly fee" if local channels are not part of their standard service. A third group of viewers who may benefit from the deal are those living in so-called "white areas" not served by local CBS signals.

The arrangement involves no monetary exchange between EchoStar and CBS, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, but is intended entirely to boost interest in high definition programming. "By adding DISH Network to our industry-leading high definition partnership, CBS is once again demonstrating its determination to bring the amazing HD viewing experience to more of our audience and to do everything we can to advance the transition to digital broadcasting," stated CBS executive vice president Martin D. Franks.

For the past two years, CBS has led the broadcasting industry in its push into the digital age, offering prime time dramas, sitcoms, and major sporting events in high definition. CBS currently produces 17 of its 18 prime time programs in HD. Daytime drama The Young and the Restless joined the digital lineup in late June, increasing the network's HDTV offerings to 24 hours per week. With 40 stations currently participating nationwide, the network hopes to have 75 stations transmitting HD signals by the end of this year, conceivably reaching as many as 68 million homes.

New programs will be transmitted in 1080i, the version of digital broadcasting with the highest resolution, in order to keep satellite signals on a par with those beamed by CBS stations. DISH subscribers with down-converting set-top boxes and traditional analog televisions won't get the benefit of the format, which requires a high-rez digital satellite receiver and a monitor capable of displaying images at 1080i. Only about 1 million of the nation's estimated 98 million TV households are so equipped at present.

DISH Network already offers four channels of HDTV, the most of any satellite or cable provider. The CBS/EchoStar alliance may put sufficient pressure on the cable industry to make it reconsider its entrenched opposition to carrying HD signals. "With this partnership, we are speeding the nation's adoption of digital and high definition television," said EchoStar's vice president of programming, Michael Schwimmer. "We look forward to working with CBS and its affiliates to bring CBS HDTV to the growing number of consumers wanting the best that television can offer." DISH Network will demonstrate CBS-provided HDTV feeds at the annual 2001 Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association convention in Nashville August 2–4.