Barry Willis

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may stop making suggestions and start meting out punishment to broadcasters who fail to make adequate progress in changing over to digital technology, according to reports from Washington.

Networks and cable providers are slowly getting behind the HDTV effort. Responding to criticism that it has lagged behind competitors ABC and CBS in rolling out HDTV programming, <A HREF="http://www.nbc.com">NBC</A> has announced that it will offer more HD prime-time shows next season.

New Year's Day, 2003 may be a day of special celebration for sports and movie fans. Ten of the nation's biggest cable providers have pledged to begin delivering digital signals by then, according to a May 2 report by Bill McConnell in the trade journal <I>Broadcasting and Cable</I>.

Would-be merger mates DirecTV and EchoStar Communications may not be the only television action in the Western sky if European satellite operator SES Global can win approval to beam its signals to American dishes.