U.S. broadcasters expect to meet the digital television transition deadline as part of their overall ongoing transition to DTV, according to findings from a survey released by Harris on Thursday.
In addition to meeting the deadline to convert over-the-air (OTA) transmission from analog to digital, the survey showed that most broadcasters plan to upgrade their facilities to provide consumers with local programming and news that originates in HD, while also providing local TV content via the Internet and mobile devices, including cell phones, PDAs and laptop computers.
The survey showed:
- 66 percent of broadcasters plan to provide consumers with more programming in HD;
- 55 percent said they will use their DTV multicast channels to broadcast more local news, sports, weather, traffic and other community interest programs;
- 50 percent expect to broadcast live programming over the Internet and derive additional revenue from their station’s Web site; and
- 28 percent of broadcasters expect to provide programming over mobile handheld devices, including cellular phones, PDAs and laptop computers.
Harris commissioned research firm In-Stat to conduct the survey. More than 100 TV stations participated. The survey has a margin of error of 9.3 percent.
For more information, visit http://www.instat.com/r/consumervideo and www.harris.com.
