News & Commentary
Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy Going HDTV
The shows will be available to local stations via syndication.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (August 21, 2006) -- Game shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune will debut in High-Definition TV next month.

That's according to an article in this week's Broadcasting & Cable.

The shows will be available to local stations via syndication. B&C quotes a CBS executive as saying that 40 stations have expressed interest in carrying the HD feeds.

Sony, the producer of both shows, apparently was initially hesitant to offer the programs in high-def.

“I’ll be the first to admit, I didn’t anticipate how much better the shows would look in high-def,” said Sony Television President Steve Mosko. "I was blown away by the look of the game. High-def has a huge impact. It just jumps off the screen.”



B&C reports that Sony developed new sets for both shows and reconfigured the studio for wider camera shots.

“What’s really surprising is that a show that is basically fairly static like Jeopardy! can be so much livelier in HD,” the magazine quotes Harry Friedman, a show producer. "You can really see the dimension of the set. Everything gets taken up a few notches in terms of production values.”

Swanni Sez:
Coupled with the announcement that NBC will air The Today Show in HD on September 13, the launch of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune in HD is great news for the high-def industry.

When consumers buy a new HDTV, they expect their favorite shows to be in high-def. However, shows such as Oprah, the network evening news, the CBS Morning News and 60 Minutes are still not in HD. This sends a signal that HDTV has still not arrived.

But the HD addition of Today and the popular syndicated game shows is a big step forward. I predict that you will see more top-rated syndicated (and network) shows making the switch to HD soon.

Click TVPredictions.com to see the rest of today's Swanni Sez.

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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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