HD Local Broadcasts

[atp1313]

Are there any/many markets that produce their own content in HD? Namely the 6:00 and 11:00 news or local sports coverage? I live the Charleston, SC market and our local NBC affiliate was the first in our market to produce and display their own original HD content. It was a documentary about the opening of the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America (here in Chas.) and the demolition of the existing inadequate bridges.

I am just wondering who is making the bulk of the content that is being sent out. Is it mainly the "mothership networks" or are affiliates beginning to step up and do their own stuff?

 

[charper1]

I am sorry I am laughing as I type this, but IT IS NOT at YOU. The affiliates are a joke and should be eliminated. They and the NAB are scourges on the TV industry to me, that are doing their best to ruin everything, or at least slow it down to the worst possible crawl, because time and technology have past them by. Most HD content is produced by 3rd party/private companies and the "mothership". The affiliates are little leeches wholly concerned with ad revenue and their own individual survival, and if they do anything of substance in HD within the next 5 years other than their own news, it would cause me to faint.

 

[riffjim4069]

News9 (CBS) in Washington DC is producing their local news in HD...and quite a bit of field reporting is also in HD. It is my understanding the CBS news in Denver is also being produced in HD and rumor has it that all 32 CBS O&Os will be broadcasting their local news in HD by 2007. CBS appears to once again be leading the way, but I am not sure if or when the other networks will follow.

 

[atp1313]

Obviously the equipment to shoot and produce HD content is expensive and not all markets can "easily" afford it, but is there any incentive from the government (FCC) to make the switch? I mean if the FCC is requiring all signals to be in HD by 2000-something, does any of this mandate fall on the shoulders of the affiliates, either independent or O&O? Seems kind of difficult to enforce a standard - granted there are 18 standards - when no one is required to comply.

 

[code4code5]

Not to correct, but it is actually the local NBC affiliate, Channel 9 KUSA that is the local leader in high definition. All of its newscasts are in full 1080i high definition, with only the exception of content produced by other stations. They are the only news station in the country, to my knowledge, that has two HD cameras (inside and outside) on their helicopter providing live feeds. We've been enjoying their HD programming for round about two years. About two weeks ago they broadcast their first hour long documentary in HD. This whole setup was a beta test between KUSA's parent company, Gannett Broadcasting, and Sony. Basically, they wanted to see if it could be done and Denver was lucky enough to be the guinea pig.