Scott
01-18-2006, 12:01 PM
From: News-Record.com (http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060118/NEWSREC0101/601170333)
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
High-definition Super Bowl flagged
By Michelle Jarboe
Staff Writer
Pam and George Wheeler have a high-definition TV set and a living room that's practically a home theater.
But come Feb. 5, they'll be watching the Super Bowl through a low-tech analog broadcast.
The high-definition signal that could take the Greensboro couple's Super Bowl experience to a whole new level isn't available on ABC in the Triad.
High definition on WXLV, the local ABC affiliate, is part of a long-standing battle between Time Warner Cable and station-owner Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Sinclair, which also owns WUPN locally and more than 50 other stations nationwide, wants Time Warner to pay for its HD signal. Time Warner's not planning to pony up cash.
The companies are trying to work out their differences, but they haven't made much progress since mid-2003, when Sinclair first demanded compensation for high definition.
The approaching Super Bowl has highlighted this standoff. Depending on the outcome of this Sunday's NFC Championship Game, Carolina Panthers fans like the Wheelers could be caught in the middle.
"We're just really frustrated that Sinclair is just being a stick in the mud about this whole thing," Pam Wheeler said. "I can't think of another way to describe it."
The Wheelers represent one of more than 11 million U.S. households with high-definition TVs, known as HDTVs. A high-definition signal provides a clearer, sharper picture than traditional signals.
Triad residents who own the high-tech sets can only see the enhanced Super Bowl if they shell out for accessories to pick up WXLV's signal from the air.
Such add-ons -- an HD tuner and antenna in the case of the Wheelers' four-year-old TV -- could cost hundreds of dollars.
High Point resident Jay Joyce doesn't need to spend that much. His two-year-old HD television, like most newer ones, has a built-in tuner.
But he's still facing at least $50 spent on a small antenna.
"I'm gonna try one that's inside the house, but I'm not very hopeful about that working," said Joyce, who is glum about the prospects for his annual Super Bowl party if guests end up watching a lesser-quality analog signal on his 60-inch screen.
Sinclair officials say that's (an OTA antenna) the only option for area football fans, unless Time Warner enters an agreement to pay for WXLV's improved signal.
That's not likely soon.
"We don't pay cash for local broadcasters using the public airwaves," said Buck Yarborough, a local spokesman for the cable company.
He said that Time Warner already is helping Sinclair by providing WXLV and WUPN to more than 350,000 viewers in 12 counties.
Sinclair's HD signals are free over the public airwaves, he said, so why should Time Warner have to pay for them?
Barry Faber, vice president and general counsel for Sinclair, said Time Warner shouldn't be able to get stations for free and then charge the consumer for access to them.
The cable company sells the basic networks to local customers for about $10 a month. This lineup also includes WGHP, WFMY and WXII, which are available in HD.
"If you want to sell something, you should have to pay to get it," Faber said. "And that's really our position."
Sinclair is also in a unique spot, he said. Other local stations are owned by large companies, like Fox, that also own cable channels -- and are paid for that.
Other cable providers, including Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator, have made deals with Sinclair, Faber said.
Faber thinks competitors like satellite provider DirecTV and the phone companies could change Time Warner's perspective.
DirecTV already pays Sinclair for its signal and likely will be broadcasting WXLV in high definition starting this summer in the Triad, said Ron Inman, the station's general manager.
That doesn't help local Time Warner subscribers looking to watch this year's Super Bowl, especially if the Panthers beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday and head to their second Super Bowl in three years.
"It really leaves Panthers fans out in the cold," Joyce said.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
High-definition Super Bowl flagged
By Michelle Jarboe
Staff Writer
Pam and George Wheeler have a high-definition TV set and a living room that's practically a home theater.
But come Feb. 5, they'll be watching the Super Bowl through a low-tech analog broadcast.
The high-definition signal that could take the Greensboro couple's Super Bowl experience to a whole new level isn't available on ABC in the Triad.
High definition on WXLV, the local ABC affiliate, is part of a long-standing battle between Time Warner Cable and station-owner Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Sinclair, which also owns WUPN locally and more than 50 other stations nationwide, wants Time Warner to pay for its HD signal. Time Warner's not planning to pony up cash.
The companies are trying to work out their differences, but they haven't made much progress since mid-2003, when Sinclair first demanded compensation for high definition.
The approaching Super Bowl has highlighted this standoff. Depending on the outcome of this Sunday's NFC Championship Game, Carolina Panthers fans like the Wheelers could be caught in the middle.
"We're just really frustrated that Sinclair is just being a stick in the mud about this whole thing," Pam Wheeler said. "I can't think of another way to describe it."
The Wheelers represent one of more than 11 million U.S. households with high-definition TVs, known as HDTVs. A high-definition signal provides a clearer, sharper picture than traditional signals.
Triad residents who own the high-tech sets can only see the enhanced Super Bowl if they shell out for accessories to pick up WXLV's signal from the air.
Such add-ons -- an HD tuner and antenna in the case of the Wheelers' four-year-old TV -- could cost hundreds of dollars.
High Point resident Jay Joyce doesn't need to spend that much. His two-year-old HD television, like most newer ones, has a built-in tuner.
But he's still facing at least $50 spent on a small antenna.
"I'm gonna try one that's inside the house, but I'm not very hopeful about that working," said Joyce, who is glum about the prospects for his annual Super Bowl party if guests end up watching a lesser-quality analog signal on his 60-inch screen.
Sinclair officials say that's (an OTA antenna) the only option for area football fans, unless Time Warner enters an agreement to pay for WXLV's improved signal.
That's not likely soon.
"We don't pay cash for local broadcasters using the public airwaves," said Buck Yarborough, a local spokesman for the cable company.
He said that Time Warner already is helping Sinclair by providing WXLV and WUPN to more than 350,000 viewers in 12 counties.
Sinclair's HD signals are free over the public airwaves, he said, so why should Time Warner have to pay for them?
Barry Faber, vice president and general counsel for Sinclair, said Time Warner shouldn't be able to get stations for free and then charge the consumer for access to them.
The cable company sells the basic networks to local customers for about $10 a month. This lineup also includes WGHP, WFMY and WXII, which are available in HD.
"If you want to sell something, you should have to pay to get it," Faber said. "And that's really our position."
Sinclair is also in a unique spot, he said. Other local stations are owned by large companies, like Fox, that also own cable channels -- and are paid for that.
Other cable providers, including Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator, have made deals with Sinclair, Faber said.
Faber thinks competitors like satellite provider DirecTV and the phone companies could change Time Warner's perspective.
DirecTV already pays Sinclair for its signal and likely will be broadcasting WXLV in high definition starting this summer in the Triad, said Ron Inman, the station's general manager.
That doesn't help local Time Warner subscribers looking to watch this year's Super Bowl, especially if the Panthers beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday and head to their second Super Bowl in three years.
"It really leaves Panthers fans out in the cold," Joyce said.