Posted on 10/26/2006 7:20:25 PM PDT by Snickering Hound
NBC says it's dropping most scripted programs from the network's 8 p.m. time slot next season, replacing them with reality and game shows.
The unscripted fare, which is cheaper to produce, will not be broadcast in High-Definition TV. However, NBC Universal TV CEO Jeff Zucker says that's no big deal.
In an interview with The Washington Post, published today at washingtonpost.com, Zucker was asked if high-def viewers might be less interested in watching non-HD programming.
"It's hard to say if viewers will be less interested in unscripted programming that's not in HD when the rest of the programming is in HD," Zucker tells the newspaper. "I think it's a fair question, but I'm not overly concerned about it at this point."
While the HDTV audience is growing, some network executives have occasionally remarked that it's still too small to have an impact on network schedules and ratings. HDTVs are now in approximately 25 million U.S. homes, but slightly fewer than 10 million actually have the HD tuners necessary to watch high-def signals.
Zucker's NBC decided in 2004 not to air a separate HDTV channel for the Summer Olympics because it said the audience was too small. After being roundly criticized in the press and Internet message boards, NBC reversed that decision for its coverage of the 2006 Winter Olympics.
The network's decision to restrict the 8 p.m. hour to unscripted shows, such as Deal or No Deal, is part of an overall effort to cut $750 million from its annual operating budget. Scripted programs, such as dramas and sitcoms, are more expensive to air due to actor salaries and higher production costs.
Producing a show in high-def also requires more expense, perhaps as much as 20 percent, according to some reports.
To NBC's credit, the network recently completed a $3.5 million renovation of The Today Show's studio and production facilities so it could air in HD.
Final note: After Zucker said last week that unscripted programs would not be scheduled in the 8 p.m. time slot, a NBC spokesman clarified his remarks, saying some comedies could still make the cut.
I like Wink. I just laugh at NBC.
The neo-luddites are out in full force on FR this evening. I suppose it's an indication of the age of the average FReeper :).
Why pay $40,000 for a car when you can get one for $11,000? Why pay $50 for a sweater, when you can get one for $9.99. IT'S THE QUALITY. Some of us are willing to spend the money we earn on some of the nicer things in life.
The real problem is that there is virtually no one left in Hollywood who can still write scripts.
They used to crank 'em out by the bushel years ago (particularly in the radio/serial days), but it's largely a lost art.
Oh, we watch all that, too... also H&G, but we like CSI, our nephew works for Amazing Home Makeover at ABC, we like House and Bones on Fox, etc...
They should have some type of "parental" control to block that sort of thing.
I looked him up on IMDB. It mentioned that recording and that he was a boyhood friend of Elvis.
If you were watching the World Series on FoxHD right now, you would realize that High Definition is really something worth knowing.
"Why does it have to be "the same height"?"
Um... So the image is the same size? The HDTV picture is wider, but not taller.
Let's say I'm watching a baseball game and the batter is taking up the height of the screen, about 16.5". If I take the same size HDTV, measured diagonally, the height of the screen is considerably shorter, making the image of the batter that much shorter. Yes, I can see the dugout on the side, but the parts of the image common to both the regular and HDTV can only be equivalent if the height of the HDTV screen is the same as the height of the regular TV screen.
That means to see equivalent size images on the 27" 4:3 TV and the HDTV, I have to get a 34" HDTV at well over $1000 for LCD or plasma.
It appears that I am not alone. $200 with a good picture vs. $2,000 with a slightly better picture... It looks like it's going to be a good long while before I get HD.
Two points; The FCC has mandated that all broadcasts be in HD by 2007...this has been postponed a couple of times...but when it comes, you will definitely have to "invest" in some new DirecTV equipment just to continue using your 17" TV.
Second point, I bought a very nice Magnavox LCD 32" thin HD TV for $1000 about 18 months ago. I would guess that that price has declined somewhat since then. Of course you can find some bigger screens, with more bells and whistles for a lot more money, but a move from a 17" standard definition picture to a 32" widescreen HD picture would really impress you.
you are the man, that is what I'm seeing.
So is a nighttime NASCAR race.
You love the idea! Admit it!
"Two points; The FCC has mandated that all broadcasts be in HD by 2007...this has been postponed a couple of times...but when it comes, you will definitely have to "invest" in some new DirecTV equipment just to continue using your 17" TV."
I meant to write that I have a 27" TV. I'm sorry for the confusion. I would need at least a 34" HDTV to get the same size images.
I strongly suspect that the 2007 deadline will pass without happening.
A nighttime NASCAR race is awesome in HD.
Bump to that!
Agree.
We don't enjoy sports on a small screen either.
Come tommarrow night at 6:30 are 61 incher is going to arrive.
Merry Christmas to my family!
I talked to our local Cable company and they told me the FCC is requiring them to offer HDTV.
Isn't that govt. forcing it?
60 inch screen is not meant to be watched at 5 ft.
10ft is the recommended distance.
I just started watching the first season of 24 on DVD. I quit watching regular TV shows years ago. Everybody has been telling me 24 was good so we picked it up and so far, I like it. I just finished episode 4 when the lady cop got killed.
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