LAS VEGAS -- The U.S. television industry faces legal and technical obstacles in the switch to digital signals, causing some TV station owners to question the viability of a 2002 deadline to get on the air.
TV stations have invested millions of dollars in cameras, antennas and other equipment to produce and transmit digital signals after a half-century of analog broadcasts. So far, only 122 of 1,600 stations broadcast digital signals. Utah is generally ahead of the curve with most Salt Lake-based stations offering digital broadcasts since October.Digital technology converts the TV signals into a computer file that allows for crystal-clear TV pictures compared with today's analog signals. A single digital channel also requires a smaller piece of the airwaves, giving stations a chance to transmit multiple signals and interactive services.
Stations now fear that once signals are available, few viewers will see them since cable TV systems serving about 70 percent of all households refuse to carry the channels. Stations want U.S. regulators to force cable to carry the digital signals.
"Without cable 'must carry,' the digital transition just doesn't happen," said Paul Karpowicz, vice president of LIN Television Corp., at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas.
"There's going to be a train wreck this fall when smaller stations say it doesn't make economic sense for me to move forward when I don't know if I can reach an audience," National Association of Broadcasters President Edward O. Fritts told reporters during the conference.
Yet, the Federal Communications Commission doesn't appear poised to act soon. Chairman William Kennard said in a speech at the convention that he wants broadcasters' digital TV, or DTV, business plans to take shape before any regulation is imposed.
"I get very, very frustrated when people come to me and they say the success of digital television lies in government developing the business, by micromanaging the transition," Kennard said. "Delay is not an option."
Another problem is that only 24,631 of 143,218 digital sets sold through the end of last year can receive digital pictures over the air. And sets aren't selling because of the high price -- about $2,500 -- and lack of digital programming on the air.
Even stations transmitting digital signals offer few programs in the high-definition format that provides the sharpest and clearest picture, which set manufacturers say will drive sales. Stations are reluctant to invest in digital programming if the audience is small, and consumers don't want to buy sets if few programs are available to watch.
A major obstacle in the transition is "having an adequate programming supply," said Robert Decherd, chief executive of Belo Corp., which owns 18 TV stations, including WFAA in Dallas, and newspapers such as the Dallas Morning News.
"We can expect receivers to remain a small percentage of overall DTV sales until consumers have access to regular, high-quality, DTV programming," said Todd Thibodeaux, vice president of market research for the Consumer Electronics Association.
Stations will produce local digital programs when networks and production companies start offering high-quality digital programming, and once TV sets compatible with cable systems are available, Decherd said.
The first digital TV sets failed to work with cable set-top boxes. The issue has been resolved, though the FCC is anxious to force cable operators and set manufacturers to resolve a dispute over labeling TV sets so that consumers know whether they support interactive services offered by cable. The agency will vote Thursday on draft rules on the issue.
Stations also want the FCC to set standards for digital televisions, so customers will see a signal equal in quality to the over-the-air transmission.
"We believe the FCC is thwarting the transition to digital instead of assisting it" by failing to order cable to carry digital signals and setting standards, Fritts said.
"We can not run a robust digital TV transition by market forces alone," said Lynn Claudy, senior vice president-science and technology at the National Association of Broadcasters.
Set makers represented by the Consumer Electronics Association said a dispute over transmission standards threatens to halt or significantly slow the transition. If the standards change, about 15 percent of consumers will buy sets by 2006--the government's target date for completing the transition.
"This is not the time to change the standard," Decherd said. "We believe (the current standard) works very well" and will continue to improve in the future.