Washington, D.C.
(April 16, 2007) -- David Rehr, CEO of the National
Association of Broadcasters, today accused cable TV operators of
planning to dilute the High-Definition picture quality of local
stations.
In a speech today at the NAB's annual convention in Las Vegas, Rehr said the practice, called "downconversion," will give cable's own high-def signals an advantage over local stations unless Congress and/or the FCC acts.
“What we have here is broadcast discrimination by the cable operators,” Rehr said, according to Multichannel News.
In a speech today at the NAB's annual convention in Las Vegas, Rehr said the practice, called "downconversion," will give cable's own high-def signals an advantage over local stations unless Congress and/or the FCC acts.
“What we have here is broadcast discrimination by the cable operators,” Rehr said, according to Multichannel News.
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Some cable operators are part of larger corporations that own channels that broadcast in high-def, such as Time Warner's HBO and Comcast's Versus/Golf Channel.
According to Multichannel News, Rehr says the cable services plan to downconvert local HD signals to standard-definition to give their own networks an edge.
The NAB and the cable TV industry have been battling for months over several issues surrounding digital transmissions such as downconverting and multicasting must-carry.
Cable services deny they are diluting the picture quality of local channels and they oppose the NAB's effort to force them to carry multiple digital signals. Some local stations are broadcasting digital channels in addition to their high-def feeds, such as 24/7 weather channels.
Multichannel News reports that Rehr today charged that the cable industry is discriminating against local broadcasters. He said cable TV's opposition to carrying all digital feeds from a local station will deny the TV viewer from seeing important programming.
“This is, in effect, stripping," Rehr said. "They are ripping out programming."
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Some cable operators are part of larger corporations that own channels that broadcast in high-def, such as Time Warner's HBO and Comcast's Versus/Golf Channel.
According to Multichannel News, Rehr says the cable services plan to downconvert local HD signals to standard-definition to give their own networks an edge.
The NAB and the cable TV industry have been battling for months over several issues surrounding digital transmissions such as downconverting and multicasting must-carry.
Cable services deny they are diluting the picture quality of local channels and they oppose the NAB's effort to force them to carry multiple digital signals. Some local stations are broadcasting digital channels in addition to their high-def feeds, such as 24/7 weather channels.
Multichannel News reports that Rehr today charged that the cable industry is discriminating against local broadcasters. He said cable TV's opposition to carrying all digital feeds from a local station will deny the TV viewer from seeing important programming.
“This is, in effect, stripping," Rehr said. "They are ripping out programming."
Comment on this article!
Click TVPredictions.com to see today's Swanni Sez.
© TVPredictions.com
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Phillip Swann is
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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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