News & Commentary
CBS: The 'C' Stands For Cheap
The network plans to show only three NFL games each week in High-Definition TV.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (September 8, 2006) -- If you're a High-Definition TV owner, you're probably excited about watching your favorite NFL team in high-def starting this Sunday.

Well, you better hope that your favorite team doesn't play in a game broadcast by CBS. The network says it will only air three games in HDTV each week during the 2006 season.

CBS has the broadcast rights to American Football Conference (AFC) games. Fox, which has the NFC (National Football Conference), will broadcast just about every game in high-def; ESPN will air all Monday Night Football games in HD as will NBC with Sunday Night Football.

Tony Petitti, CBS Sports' executive vice president, says the network will not air more games in HD because it focused instead on building a new HD studio for The NFL Today, the network's pre-game show which will air in high-def.

The network exec says he expects that all CBS games will be in high-def by 2008 or 2009.


Swanni Sez:
Petitti's explanation is pathetic. Football fans want to watch the games in high-def, not the pre-game fluff. Not to mention, Fox and ESPN somehow manage to broadcast every game and pre-game show in high-def.

CBS is clearly taking the easy way out - and high-def owners should let their voices be heard. This is 2006. There's no excuse for a regular-season National Football League game not being in high-def.

I suspect that CBS calculated that a HD pre-game show would generate more advertising than, say, a mid-season broadcast between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns. Consequently, we get a HD pre-game show -- and just three HD games each week.

It seems that the 'C' in CBS stands for cheap. And if you take the 'C' out of CBS, what you're left with is what the network is giving high-def owners.

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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.

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