Advertisers disappointed in HD

I’ve had an HDTV for a longtime by HD standards… almost 4 years. I can’t say I watch more TV, in fact probably less (and even less now with a Baby) but not because of the programming, but rather how I choose to use my time.

I got the set for the future, so we could watch DVDs and enjoy HDTV when it eventually came to cable. We’ve watched our share of sports (Superbowl), prime-time (24) and cable (Sopranos) all which have been great. There are few if any commercials which scale or are shot in HD (probably based on cost) so when a commercial kicks in, it’s clear you are no longer in HD and the experience has been reduced. I don’t know whether a regular 30 sec. spot in HD is going to captivate me or anyone else any more than they do now…

We’ve been watching even less (like zero) HD since November which is when Hannah arrived. It’s impossible to watch anything without a pause feature and until we get an HD DVR, we’ll be keeping our viewing in standard DVR mode. Soon enough… though then we’ll be skipping the commercials when we’ve got the cache as we do now. 😉

The Washington Post has an article with some disheartening comments on HD from a broadcast business standpoint. Here are the key ones:

  • “”I don’t think high-definition is a panacea,” said Kenneth Schanzer, president of NBC Sports, which also plans to broadcast the first all-high definition Summer Olympics from Athens in August. “It will certainly enhance the viewing experience for the fan. But I don’t think it generates any new viewers or any new revenues anywhere. In my heart of hearts, I don’t think it will increase ratings.”
  • Pretty strong words from a pretty important source – the President of NBC Sport. [U P R E Z]

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