ESPN: HDTV winning, but programmers must also keep doing analog

[Gregg Lengling]

Copyright 2004 Warren Publishing Inc.

TELEVISION A.M.

September 2, 2004, Thursday

From Lexis Nexis

Oh, the price of progress in a legacy world. The success of HDTV will mean a double burden on programmers for years, an ESPN executive said.

More than 100 million U.S. households will have widescreen sets by 2010, assuring high-definition's triumph, VP-Strategic Planning & Business Development Bryan Burns said in a media briefing.

But there will still be twice as many sets in the 4x3 format, he said. So ESPN will keep having to provide analog programming for years even as digital takes over: "It will be a question of how do we deliver 16x9 cropped for other 4x3 sets."

ESPN expects to shoot most programming in widescreen within the next couple years, Burns said. The network, now shooting in 720p, will start shifting to 1080p as the cameras become available, which is expected next spring. The transition also will require a new generation of studio equipment and mobile production trucks, he said.