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Producers Are Writing the Rules on Creating a Steady Stream of High-Def Programming By Peter Caranicas
HD 24/7 is for real. HDNet at a Major League Soccer game.
Skeptics can now move aside. High-definition television — that long-ridiculed stepchild of Congress and the FCC, born as an analog baby, now entering its digital adolescence, is flowering into an energetic young adult, ready to transform television, enhance entertainment — and create jobs.
At least, that's what one multibillion-dollar corporation is betting on as it sets up the infrastructure for a multi-channel, satellite-delivered HD service. The company is Cablevision Systems, which, through its Rainbow DBS satellite division, has launched VOOM, a television service offering an array of 39 high-definition channels to subscribers coast to coast as part of a broad lineup of well over 100 channels — including many in standard-def. Twenty-one of the HD channels are exclusive to VOOM.
HDNet NHL coverage
VOOM is presenting itself as a total replacement for existing satellite and cable services, according to John McKee, senior VP of customer operations. "Our business plan is predicated on the fact that we have the dominant offering of HD services," he explains. "We believe that when people experience HDTV, they won't see any reason to keep their previous providers."
Ten of VOOM's exclusive HD channels are devoted to movie services, showing commercial-free films transferred to HD. Eleven of the channels, however, are exclusive VOOM non-movie HD channels. They are programmed by Rainbow Media Holdings, Cablevision's programming arm, and include an array of commercial-free offerings, all broadcasting in 1080i — the format commonly acknowledged as offering the highest quality available in broadcasting today.
Big Money
Which raises the obvious question: How do you go about producing (and acquiring) thousands of hours of HD programming annually without breaking the bank? The easy answer is that you can break the bank. Rainbow parent Cablevision has very deep pockets — the company generates nearly $4 billion annually.
Although executives have been vague about the costs of starting VOOM, they have not disputed published reports that the company spent at least half a billion dollars to build the satellite, launch it, put a new organization together and get the business off the ground. That doesn't count additional investments in plant, equipment and human resources for production, post-production, and program commissioning.
VOOM coverage of Fashion Week in New York City
Greg Moyer, who has the formal title of president of regional programming for Rainbow Media, is overseeing all original production for VOOM. His specialty, honed by 13 years at Discovery Communications and five at Rainbow, is producing nonfiction information programming.
"My job is to oversee 10 non-movie channels, all of them broadcasting 24/7," he explains. Not counting acquired content, each of these channels is gearing up to produce 200 to 300 hours of original programming per year. "We're talking about thousands of hours of high-def television per year, not even counting news. And we want everything to be shot in HD."
Moyer stresses that the quality of VOOM's audiovisual experience is a high priority. Rainbow's in-house production capability is based on Sony HD cameras and "whenever possible, our choice is to shoot in 1080i," he says. "Also, whenever it's within our control and makes sense for the program, we're going to be mixing to 5.1 surround audio for a full experience."
Rainbow has built what Moyer describes as "one of the largest HD post facilities anywhere," with seven HD-capable Avid suites operating and additional ones to open in 2005. The facility is located at Rainbow's Penn Plaza offices in Manhattan, across the street from Cable-vision-owned Madison Square Garden.
HDNet coverage of the war in Iraq
New York's production and post community is "absolutely agog" with Rainbow's sudden HD activity, says Moyer. But, he adds, not enough people in the area have been trained in HD work. "In six months we've found everybody who knows how to do HD, plus we started training new HD editors. Production outfits all over town have benefited from our start-up."
Calling All Independents
An enterprise as ambitious as VOOM cannot fill all its own production needs internally, so Rainbow is outsourcing work. "We're signing others to shoot on our behalf, and in some cases, finish and post on our behalf," says Moyer. "We're aggressively going out to people with experience in HD and getting them shoot a show in HD, but then edit it in SD, and then we do the conform edit in HD within our environment.
A Dallas HDNet shoot for the True Music show featuring the band Perfect Stranger
"This two-step process," he explains, "is a way to save on costs because the creative decisions are made in a less expensive and bottlenecked environment. We have 17 Avid SD rooms to play with."
Rainbow is also saving money by not upgrading its two SD studios to HD for the time being, since most of its shows do not require a studio base. The only exception is VOOM's HD news channel — dubbed HDN — which is based in a new HD three-camera set housed in the company's Long Island facility.
Another part of Rainbow's strategy for staying cost-efficient is to acquire HD programming rather than produce it. Says Moyer: "We're going into a commissioning model where we go to production companies to bring us their ideas. Or we may have an idea and get them to work for hire. We're open to a number of arrangements."
Moyer notes that "there are people all over the world shooting in HD, and we're trying to find out about them so we can acquire from them and/or co-produce with them if the content matches to any of the channels we've launched."
There's more pages if you want to read everything
Producers Are Writing the Rules on Creating a Steady Stream of High-Def Programming By Peter Caranicas
HD 24/7 is for real. HDNet at a Major League Soccer game.
Skeptics can now move aside. High-definition television — that long-ridiculed stepchild of Congress and the FCC, born as an analog baby, now entering its digital adolescence, is flowering into an energetic young adult, ready to transform television, enhance entertainment — and create jobs.
At least, that's what one multibillion-dollar corporation is betting on as it sets up the infrastructure for a multi-channel, satellite-delivered HD service. The company is Cablevision Systems, which, through its Rainbow DBS satellite division, has launched VOOM, a television service offering an array of 39 high-definition channels to subscribers coast to coast as part of a broad lineup of well over 100 channels — including many in standard-def. Twenty-one of the HD channels are exclusive to VOOM.
HDNet NHL coverage
VOOM is presenting itself as a total replacement for existing satellite and cable services, according to John McKee, senior VP of customer operations. "Our business plan is predicated on the fact that we have the dominant offering of HD services," he explains. "We believe that when people experience HDTV, they won't see any reason to keep their previous providers."
Ten of VOOM's exclusive HD channels are devoted to movie services, showing commercial-free films transferred to HD. Eleven of the channels, however, are exclusive VOOM non-movie HD channels. They are programmed by Rainbow Media Holdings, Cablevision's programming arm, and include an array of commercial-free offerings, all broadcasting in 1080i — the format commonly acknowledged as offering the highest quality available in broadcasting today.
Big Money
Which raises the obvious question: How do you go about producing (and acquiring) thousands of hours of HD programming annually without breaking the bank? The easy answer is that you can break the bank. Rainbow parent Cablevision has very deep pockets — the company generates nearly $4 billion annually.
Although executives have been vague about the costs of starting VOOM, they have not disputed published reports that the company spent at least half a billion dollars to build the satellite, launch it, put a new organization together and get the business off the ground. That doesn't count additional investments in plant, equipment and human resources for production, post-production, and program commissioning.
VOOM coverage of Fashion Week in New York City
Greg Moyer, who has the formal title of president of regional programming for Rainbow Media, is overseeing all original production for VOOM. His specialty, honed by 13 years at Discovery Communications and five at Rainbow, is producing nonfiction information programming.
"My job is to oversee 10 non-movie channels, all of them broadcasting 24/7," he explains. Not counting acquired content, each of these channels is gearing up to produce 200 to 300 hours of original programming per year. "We're talking about thousands of hours of high-def television per year, not even counting news. And we want everything to be shot in HD."
Moyer stresses that the quality of VOOM's audiovisual experience is a high priority. Rainbow's in-house production capability is based on Sony HD cameras and "whenever possible, our choice is to shoot in 1080i," he says. "Also, whenever it's within our control and makes sense for the program, we're going to be mixing to 5.1 surround audio for a full experience."
Rainbow has built what Moyer describes as "one of the largest HD post facilities anywhere," with seven HD-capable Avid suites operating and additional ones to open in 2005. The facility is located at Rainbow's Penn Plaza offices in Manhattan, across the street from Cable-vision-owned Madison Square Garden.
HDNet coverage of the war in Iraq
New York's production and post community is "absolutely agog" with Rainbow's sudden HD activity, says Moyer. But, he adds, not enough people in the area have been trained in HD work. "In six months we've found everybody who knows how to do HD, plus we started training new HD editors. Production outfits all over town have benefited from our start-up."
Calling All Independents
An enterprise as ambitious as VOOM cannot fill all its own production needs internally, so Rainbow is outsourcing work. "We're signing others to shoot on our behalf, and in some cases, finish and post on our behalf," says Moyer. "We're aggressively going out to people with experience in HD and getting them shoot a show in HD, but then edit it in SD, and then we do the conform edit in HD within our environment.
A Dallas HDNet shoot for the True Music show featuring the band Perfect Stranger
"This two-step process," he explains, "is a way to save on costs because the creative decisions are made in a less expensive and bottlenecked environment. We have 17 Avid SD rooms to play with."
Rainbow is also saving money by not upgrading its two SD studios to HD for the time being, since most of its shows do not require a studio base. The only exception is VOOM's HD news channel — dubbed HDN — which is based in a new HD three-camera set housed in the company's Long Island facility.
Another part of Rainbow's strategy for staying cost-efficient is to acquire HD programming rather than produce it. Says Moyer: "We're going into a commissioning model where we go to production companies to bring us their ideas. Or we may have an idea and get them to work for hire. We're open to a number of arrangements."
Moyer notes that "there are people all over the world shooting in HD, and we're trying to find out about them so we can acquire from them and/or co-produce with them if the content matches to any of the channels we've launched."
There's more pages if you want to read everything
