ESPN Expands HD Lineup

Good news for those who love their sporting events and sports talk shows in HD!!! 

ESPN, the soon-to-be worldwide leader in HD sports, has announced that it will broadcast most all NASCAR, NBA, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, college football, and NFL Monday Night Football broadcasts in HDTV.  ESPN says it will also air approximately 150 college basketball games in high-def this year.

The high-def games will be on ESPN HD and ESPN 2 HD.

As for the cost of theHDTV expansion, Bryan Burns, ESPN’s vice president for strategic business planning and development, told Broadcasting & Cable that it’s “far less than it was when we started this four years ago. Then, it was massive.”

ESPN will also air 1st and 10 and Cold Pizza in high-def in June, joining shows like SportsCenter, NFL Countdown, and Baseball Tonight on the list of ESPN shows boradcast in HD.

HDTV Game Show to Launch on NBS Stations

This fall, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune creator Merv Griffin will reportedly launch a new game show in high-definition called Let’s Play Crosswords, which will initially air on NBC stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Dallas.  Let’s Play Crosswords features 2 contestants who solve crossword puzzles by answering questions with specific words, says The Hollywood Reporter. 

Some game shows (Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune) are produced in high-def, but since many stations don’t have the equipment to store large blocks of HD programming, the shows are not offered in HD. The game shows are instead recorded by the local stations and broadcast at a later time. 

So far, there’s no word on which stations, if any, will broadcast Let’s Play Crosswords in high-def at launch.

DirecTV HotPass in HD for 2008 NASCAR Season

DirecTV’s HotPass, which debuted this weekend at the Daytona 500 and allows viewers to follow five NASCAR drivers each week, will be offered in high-definition for the 2008 NASCAR season.  The HotPass service includes a special channel for each of the five drivers, including real-time statistics and individual cameras.  DirecTV is scheduled to expand high-def capacity later this year with the launch of at least one new satellite. Reportedly, HotPass high-def coverage will be costly and time-consuming to implement.  Whether DirecTV will charge extra for the HDTV HotPass is still unknown; DirecTV currently charges $99 for the 2007 HotPass package.

Mobile HDTV in ’08 from Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments says it will enable 720p high-definition video on high-end mobile phones in 2008 and recently demonstrated what it calls the industry’s first application processor to playback 720p high-def video for mobiles at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

TI says the 720p video can also be transferred to a projector of large-screen high-def set, if consumers aren’t really interested in watching HDTV on small-screen mobile phones.

TI says a OMAP3430 application processor will give mobile owners direct access to personal video content stored in high-def formats. The 720p HD playback will display in 1280×720 pixels.

“As the wireless market continues to evolve, 3D graphics and high-end video will transform the mobile user experience through the availability of new content and services,” says Mario Morales, an analyst with the research firm IDC. “Semiconductor platforms that provide these value-added features from the high end of the market, and also in the mainstream segments, stand to gain more momentum as consumers require a more compelling list of features like 720p video playback and OpenGL ES 2.0 advanced graphics, for a richer user experience on their new feature phones.”

NBA in 3D HDTV

The NBA is considering showing live games in 3D HDTV in movie theaters and stadiums and plans to demonstrate the technology for advertisers and TV industry officials at a private event at the 2007 NBA All-Star game in Las Vegas.

NBA officials say they will use 3D HD cameras from technology company Pace, has designed five 3-D HD camera systems that will cover all of the All-Star game. The Pace blueprint calls for two HD cameras to be built in to each of the five systems, working together to transmit the 3-D images. Invitees will need glasses to get the full 3-D effect.
“It’s ocular convergence and a layering of images,” Steve Hellmuth, senior VP of operations and technology for NBA Entertainment, told Broadcasting & Cable magazine. “It changes the ocular experience by having the cameras change position on the sled, and the viewer is drawn into a unique experience that you’re not even aware of having.”

Super Bowl Commercials Were More Memorable with an HDTV

A study just released by Nielsen reveals that HDTV owners remembered 15% more of the Super Bowl commercials (arguably the best part of the game) than non-HD owners following the game.  Nielsen explained that the more commercials people viewed, the more they were able to recall. Viewers who watched the entire game remembered 21% more ads than those who viewed 75% of the game.

Neilsen conducted an online poll and analyzed its rating measurements to determine which commercials were most popular and remembered.
Nielsen said the highest rated commercial minute was at 9:25 p.m. ET on Sunday when a Hewlett-Packard spot was seen by 99.9 million viewers. The commercial featured Paul Teutul (Sr.) of of Orange County Choppers and the popular American Chopper TV series.

Neilsen also said there were 101 separate commercials telecast during 44 minutes and 10 seconds, compared to 96 commercials over 47 minutes and 18 seconds of ad time for last year’s game.

HDTV owners were 168% more likely to watch the game in a group of six or more people and were 27% more likely to find the ads in this year’s Super Bowl at least as entertaining as last year’s game.
 

Circuit City Locations and HDTV Prices Chopped

Because of falling flat-panel HDTV prices and increased sales pressure from discount stories such as Wal-Mart and Costco, Circuit City announced today that it’s closing roughly 70 stories; also announced was news that its chief merchandising exec is leaving the company.
Reuters reports that Circuit City said lower plasma and LCD flat-panel HDTV prices have reduced profit margins, and as a result, Circuit City and Best Buy were forced to make drastic HDTV price cuts last year when the discount stores lowered some large-screen sets to around $1,000.  Prices have stabilized a bit in 2007, but some electronics experts believe that another price war is inevitable in the second half of the year.

Philip Schoonover, Circuit City’s CEO and president, said in a statement that his company will take some remedial steps, namely store closings, with more coming over the next six months.  Circuit City will close 62 international stores and seven U.S. superstores by the end of February, but the company did not reveal where the closings will take place.

HDNet to Carry Beckham and L.A. Galaxy

David Beckham’s new team, the Los Angeles Galaxy, is scheduled to make eight appearances this season on HDNet, the HDTV network, but soccer fans will only get to see Mr. Posh Spice play in just four of the games on HDNet, which is available on satellite and several cable TV systems.

The Major League Soccer (MLS) season starts in April, but Beckham, who just signed a five year deal with the Galaxy, is not expected to join the team until July.  HDNet is scheduled to broadcast the Galaxy’s game on July 4 against the Chicago Fire, but it’s uncertain if Beckman might not be ready by then.  The Galaxy are also scheduled to makea few appearances on ESPN 2, but the network has not announced its high-def plans.

Here are the four games on HDNet most likely to include David Beckham: (All times Eastern.)

September 1, 10:30 p.m.
Real Salt Lake vs LA Galaxy

September 19, 9 p.m.
LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake

September 23, 8 p.m.
FC Dallas vs. LA Galaxy

September 30, 5 p.m.
LA Galaxy vs. Columbus Crew