Washington, D.C.
(April 24, 2007) --
CBS yesterday revealed that it will double its High-Definition
coverage of the National Football League during the 2007 season.
The network aired just three NFL games a week in high-def last season, but CBS spokeswoman Leslie Anne Wade told TVPredictions.com that it will show "up to six games" this fall.
The news caught many HD observers by surprise because CBS was expected to add just one HD game in 2007. The network said last year that it would likely not significantly increase its high-def coverage until 2008 or 2009.
The reason; Cost.
Robert Seidel, the network's vice president for engineering, told TVPredictions.com that the network had not gone to a full HD lineup yet because of the challenges in producing so many games each week.
"We sometimes do eight games a week, with up to 16 feeds," he lamented.
So why did CBS call an audible? Did the cost of producing a game in high-def suddenly get cheaper?
Not quite.
The network aired just three NFL games a week in high-def last season, but CBS spokeswoman Leslie Anne Wade told TVPredictions.com that it will show "up to six games" this fall.
The news caught many HD observers by surprise because CBS was expected to add just one HD game in 2007. The network said last year that it would likely not significantly increase its high-def coverage until 2008 or 2009.
The reason; Cost.
Robert Seidel, the network's vice president for engineering, told TVPredictions.com that the network had not gone to a full HD lineup yet because of the challenges in producing so many games each week.
"We sometimes do eight games a week, with up to 16 feeds," he lamented.
So why did CBS call an audible? Did the cost of producing a game in high-def suddenly get cheaper?
Not quite.
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The network reversed course for two reasons:
1. Ratings
High-Definition TVs are now in roughly 30 million U.S. homes -- and perhaps as many as 20 million now have the high-def tuners necessary to watch HD channels. If CBS continued to offer just three games a week in high-def, it could have had an impact on the ratings, starting this season.
The Baltimore Ravens will be seen more often in HD.
While die-hard fans would watch their home team regardless of whether the game is in HD, casual fans who own HDTVs would likely choose the Fox HD broadcast over the CBS standard definition game. (Fox has aired roughly six NFL games a week in high-def for a few years.)
2. Image
CBS converted its primetime schedule to HD earlier than its broadcast network rivals. But the paucity of NFL broadcasts in high-def had become an embarrassment, hurting the network's image as a high-def pioneer.
Compounding the problem: HDTV owners blitzed the network -- and its local affiliates -- with complaints about the lack of NFL coverage in HD. The network took notice.
So, kudos to CBS for its reversal -- and kudos to HDTV owners who made their voices heard.
Click TVPredictions.com to see today's Swanni Sez.
© TVPredictions.com
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The network reversed course for two reasons:
1. Ratings
High-Definition TVs are now in roughly 30 million U.S. homes -- and perhaps as many as 20 million now have the high-def tuners necessary to watch HD channels. If CBS continued to offer just three games a week in high-def, it could have had an impact on the ratings, starting this season.
The Baltimore Ravens will be seen more often in HD.
While die-hard fans would watch their home team regardless of whether the game is in HD, casual fans who own HDTVs would likely choose the Fox HD broadcast over the CBS standard definition game. (Fox has aired roughly six NFL games a week in high-def for a few years.)
2. Image
CBS converted its primetime schedule to HD earlier than its broadcast network rivals. But the paucity of NFL broadcasts in high-def had become an embarrassment, hurting the network's image as a high-def pioneer.
Compounding the problem: HDTV owners blitzed the network -- and its local affiliates -- with complaints about the lack of NFL coverage in HD. The network took notice.
So, kudos to CBS for its reversal -- and kudos to HDTV owners who made their voices heard.
Click TVPredictions.com to see today's Swanni Sez.
© TVPredictions.com
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Phillip Swann is
president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in
dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox
News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The
Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The
Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at
swann@tvpredictions.com
or at 703-505-3064.
Click
TVPredictions.com
to read more news and features on TV
technology.