Digital TV may be haven for classic shows

[Jude The Obscure]

from usa today

Classic shows could find new life in digital TV
By David Lieberman

NEW YORK - Everyone knows that the national transition to digital
broadcast television will promote sexy new technologies including
high-definition TV (HDTV).

But few could have imagined that it might also revive some of the
creakiest movies and series ever committed to celluloid, including The
Lone Ranger, McHale's Navy and The Addams Family.

Vintage reruns and other inexpensive shows are in vogue, though, as
stations and programmers rush into a potentially important new
business: multicast networks.

Executives at services such as MGM's This TV, Retro Television Network
(RTN), VTV: The Variety Channel, .2 Network, NBC's Universal Sports
and the Local AccuWeather Channel say that they can change the TV
habits of millions of viewers - especially after Feb. 17, the federal
deadline for stations to stop broadcasting analog signals and just
offer digital.

"We're betting that it's a huge opportunity," says Howard Bolter,
president of LATV, a bilingual entertainment service that targets
young Latino viewers.

Multicast services piggyback on digital signals from local stations,
including those offering HDTV versions of ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS.
Most stations also have room in the airwave spectrum the government
has allocated to transmit two standard-definition channels. That could
mean up to a dozen stations for a moderate-size market.

'We're hitting the mother lode'

That means someone in, say, Savannah, Ga., who receives over-the-air
digital signals and wants to watch Bachelor Father on RTN would punch
3.2 into the remote: That indicates it's subchannel 2 of channel 3.
Cable and satellite services assign distinct channel numbers to
multicast services.

Programmers say that their ventures will appeal to people who already
feel overrun with TV options. "We're hitting the mother lode," says
RTN Executive Vice President Mark Dvornik. "A lot of cable networks
have drifted to first-run and reality shows. But there's an audience
that wants classic shows."

Most should reach everyone in a community - not just cable and
satellite subscribers. And local broadcasters have a strong incentive
to promote them on their popular newscasts as well as syndicated and
major network shows.

Stations typically get the multicast programming for free and sell
five minutes an hour of ad time. The networks sell an additional five
minutes to national advertisers.

Multicast network programmers say that they could have a big advantage
over national cable channels if stations add their own shows to the
mix.

"The future of digital multicast channels is to stay local," says Ken
Reiner, vice president of programming for Newport Television, the
backer of VTV, whose fare includes home and garden shows as well as
chestnuts such as The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and I Married
Joan.

"Many stations with major network agreements have limitations on their
ability to present local programming," Reiner says. The multicast
"channels can become a social network in a community."

Weather could be a big draw

NBC and AccuWeather are counting on local weather to be a big draw.
"The challenge stations have is to find content that will attract
viewers, and one of the most obvious places to look is at content
that's worked on their flagship stations," says Lee Rainey, vice
president of marketing at AccuWeather.

Because multicast channels use the public airwaves, they must comply
with Federal Communications Commission rules for broadcasters,
including the requirements to offer closed captioning, kid-friendly
shows and community service.

And because the networks will have few viewers initially, it may take
awhile before ad sales cover even their low programming costs. That
may force stations to reach out to small businesses, such as waterbed
stores or kung fu trainers.

"We've out-priced those people," says MGM's John Bryan, who's
overseeing This TV - a service that will feature the studio's 4,100
films and 10,000 hours of TV shows. "If you think about the (ad)
inventory that can get moved that way, stations could see an 8% to 10%
bump to their bottom line."

That's a key argument for programmers: Station owners also are
weighing opportunities to use their extra airwave capacity for
business data or to broadcast TV shows to cellphones.

Multicast network executives say that they aren't worried. Stations
could have room for several additional channels and services as
engineers find new ways to compress digital bits.

"It's a long-range business," Bolter says. "These channels require a
financial and an emotional commitment. And people need to get those
(digital) TVs. When they do, they'll be surprised at how much is out
there already."

[PattiB]

Good! I hope in the very near future everyone can get RTN or something that offers the classic's.

[James28]

How will our pre-90s classic shows adapt to the world of Digital TV?

[dakert]

I got burned by TVLand I dont think I would let another channel do that to me again!!