Commentary
MSNBC's HD Election Gaffe
The cable news network ignores high-def at its own peril.
By Swanni
MSNBC's HD Election Gaffe
The cable news network ignores high-def at its own peril.
By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (October 24, 2008) -- CNN has been in high-def for more than a year. Fox News' High-Definition channel launched last spring -- just in time for the general election campaign for the 2008 presidential race.
But MSNBC? Well, the third entrant in the cable news network war has yet to offer a high-def simulcast channel. And now, network officials tell Multichannel News that it likely won't until the second quarter of 2009.
“Look, I’d love to be in HD right now,” said MSNBC president Phil Griffin. "The idea of the announcement before the election appealed to me. I pushed our guys hard.”
But, apparently, not hard enough. The news network, which is owned by NBC and features such iconic personalities as Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann, says it couldn't convert a second control room in time for the election. (One HD-ready control room was ready to go.)
“We don’t want to do it in parts. We want to be fully ready,” Griffin told Multichannel News.
Sorry, Mr. Griffin, but that doesn't pass the smell test. Come on, you couldn't get a single control room ready so you could offer high-def coverage of arguably the most historic presidential race in decades?
That's even more farfetched than your typical plot of Knight Rider.
If NBC wanted MSNBC to be in high-def this year, it would have spent the money necessary to make it happen. But there's a reason it didn't -- the same reason that MSNBC regularly finishes third in the cable news ratings.
The network is led by the cheapest man in town.
Namely NBC Universal President and CEO Jeff Zucker.
That's right. Zucker. The same guy who once said he didn't think that high-def was very important; that viewers would probably watch a show whether it was in HD or not. ("It's hard to say if viewers will be less interested in unscripted programming that's not in HD when the rest of the programming is in HD," Zucker said in 2006. "I think it's a fair question, but I'm not overly concerned about it at this point.")
Yes, Zucker. The same guy who was involved in the network's decision to wait until 2006 before airing the Olympics live in high-def (Ex NBC Cable President David Zaslav had a big hand in on that one, too.)
Zucker. The same guy who kept Wimbledon, the world's premiere tennis tournament, in standard-definition until 2008.
Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal.
And, yes. Zucker. The same guy who litters his summer primetime lineup (and sometimes the fall) with cheaply-produced SD reality programs such as Last Comic Standing, Nashville Star and America's Got Talent.
NBC was once considered a pioneer in the HDTV industry, launching The Tonight Show in high-def back in 1999. But after Zucker began taking important positions at the network -- and eventually becoming president and CEO -- the network has taken a hit-and-miss approach to HD.
For example, NBC was the first to go high-def with its evening newscast (last year) and the network's 2008 Olympic HD coverage was both breathtaking and comprehensive.
But then you see the network's primetime schedule still featuring SD programs -- and now MSNBC ignoring HD for the 2008 election -- and you have to wonder if the network is yet fully committed to high-def.
Well, one thing you won't have to wonder is whether MSNBC's decision to sit out the 2008 election as far as high-def is concerned will hurt the network in the long run.
Answer: It will.
While MSNBC's ratings are up this year (and so are CNN and Fox's ratings, thanks to the election), I suspect that they are down in the high-def audience, an audience that's growing fast. (High-def viewership is still not categorized by Nielsen.) Depending upon their political allegiances, high-def owners are picking either CNN or Fox News to watch this year's election coverage because they are in HD.
And when MSNBC eventually switches to HD next year (assuming Mr. Zucker doesn't veto it for economic reasons), it may be too late to bring those viewers back.
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But MSNBC? Well, the third entrant in the cable news network war has yet to offer a high-def simulcast channel. And now, network officials tell Multichannel News that it likely won't until the second quarter of 2009.
“Look, I’d love to be in HD right now,” said MSNBC president Phil Griffin. "The idea of the announcement before the election appealed to me. I pushed our guys hard.”
But, apparently, not hard enough. The news network, which is owned by NBC and features such iconic personalities as Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann, says it couldn't convert a second control room in time for the election. (One HD-ready control room was ready to go.)
“We don’t want to do it in parts. We want to be fully ready,” Griffin told Multichannel News.
Sorry, Mr. Griffin, but that doesn't pass the smell test. Come on, you couldn't get a single control room ready so you could offer high-def coverage of arguably the most historic presidential race in decades?
That's even more farfetched than your typical plot of Knight Rider.
If NBC wanted MSNBC to be in high-def this year, it would have spent the money necessary to make it happen. But there's a reason it didn't -- the same reason that MSNBC regularly finishes third in the cable news ratings.
The network is led by the cheapest man in town.
Namely NBC Universal President and CEO Jeff Zucker.
That's right. Zucker. The same guy who once said he didn't think that high-def was very important; that viewers would probably watch a show whether it was in HD or not. ("It's hard to say if viewers will be less interested in unscripted programming that's not in HD when the rest of the programming is in HD," Zucker said in 2006. "I think it's a fair question, but I'm not overly concerned about it at this point.")
Yes, Zucker. The same guy who was involved in the network's decision to wait until 2006 before airing the Olympics live in high-def (Ex NBC Cable President David Zaslav had a big hand in on that one, too.)
Zucker. The same guy who kept Wimbledon, the world's premiere tennis tournament, in standard-definition until 2008.
Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal.
And, yes. Zucker. The same guy who litters his summer primetime lineup (and sometimes the fall) with cheaply-produced SD reality programs such as Last Comic Standing, Nashville Star and America's Got Talent.
NBC was once considered a pioneer in the HDTV industry, launching The Tonight Show in high-def back in 1999. But after Zucker began taking important positions at the network -- and eventually becoming president and CEO -- the network has taken a hit-and-miss approach to HD.
For example, NBC was the first to go high-def with its evening newscast (last year) and the network's 2008 Olympic HD coverage was both breathtaking and comprehensive.
But then you see the network's primetime schedule still featuring SD programs -- and now MSNBC ignoring HD for the 2008 election -- and you have to wonder if the network is yet fully committed to high-def.
Well, one thing you won't have to wonder is whether MSNBC's decision to sit out the 2008 election as far as high-def is concerned will hurt the network in the long run.
Answer: It will.
While MSNBC's ratings are up this year (and so are CNN and Fox's ratings, thanks to the election), I suspect that they are down in the high-def audience, an audience that's growing fast. (High-def viewership is still not categorized by Nielsen.) Depending upon their political allegiances, high-def owners are picking either CNN or Fox News to watch this year's election coverage because they are in HD.
And when MSNBC eventually switches to HD next year (assuming Mr. Zucker doesn't veto it for economic reasons), it may be too late to bring those viewers back.
Comment on this article!
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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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