At the National Assoc. of Broadcasters convention in Las
Vegas, "one word that was on everyone's lips was 'digital,'"
according to Gray Dretzka of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. In his
keynote, News Corp. Chair Rupert Murdoch encouraged TV execs to
"embrace the evolution" to digital and high-definition TV --
despite his company's studies that show the costs to be
"terrifying." Murdoch estimates conversion for an average
station to be between $2.5M and $3.5M, and for a network at least
$100M. Murdoch added, even with better reception and increased
choices, "no one that I know has a proven business plan that will
generate one extra dime in revenue to help pay for all this
expense" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/16). Murdoch tied his comments into
his criticism of the government's plan to make broadcasters pay
for digital spectrum space (INSIDE MEDIA, 4/16). CBS Chair
Michael Jordan: "Digital TV is a better product and we don't
want to let the competition have it too long before we do"
(Charles Haddad, ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 4/16). A BROADCASTING &
CABLE profile of Jordan notes he has all CBS-owned stations on a
"fast transition" to HDTV and that he believes the transition to
digital TV will be "a lot easier than most people think"
(BROADCASTING & CABLE, 4/15 issue).
