This from the Globe and Mail -
CBC planning foray into HDTV
By WILLIAM HOUSTON
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - Page S9
The CBC has applied for a licence to transmit high-definition television content, and the first HDTV production is likely to be a Hockey Night in Canada game.
The Grey Cup, the top-rated annual sports show in the country, seems like a natural for an HDTV debut on the CBC. But Nancy Lee, the head of sports, said the network would probably begin more modestly.
"I'm not sure we're looking at a big event," she said. "There already are challenges to televising the Grey Cup, including potential cold weather.
"We're looking at doing a series [of hockey games] in HDTV. Right now, we're doing the financials and finding out what we have to test on this."
HDTV produces a remarkably clear picture. And the wide screen is effective in sports broadcasting.
"From what industry people are saying, this is the future," Lee said. "And I think it's terrific for sports."
Recently, CTV's sports channel, TSN, produced an HDTV Canadian Football League game. Rogers Sportsnet went with HDTV for a Toronto Blue Jays-New York Yankees game.
High definition is expensive for both the consumer and the networks. Production costs are at least double, and wide-screen HDTV sets sell for about $3,000.
However, Rick Brace, the president of CTV, says high-definition's future is assured.
"We're going down the road to high definition and there's no going back," he said. "The question is how long will it take. In the United States, all the high-profile shows and high-profile sports are being produced in high definition.
"Not long ago, a plasma screen cost $10,000. But I have a JVC 48-inch high-definition TV and it cost $3,500. That's not out of the ballpark, and those numbers are dropping year by year. So, if I'm buying a new TV, there's no point in buying a standard-definition TV."
In addition to the CBC, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced that several stations, including CTV's outlets in Toronto and Vancouver as well as Craig's new Toronto station, had applied for HDTV licences
If CBS starts broadcasting Hockey Night in Canada in HDTV the HDTV sets will start flying off the selves here in Canada!
HiDefBob
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