TV stations nearly complete digital conversion

Per Congressional mandate, broadcasters must send only digital TV signals after Feb. 17, 2009. KYTV, KOLR and KSFX already are sending digital signals, alongside their analog signals, and about $1.5 million in equipment has been ordered to bring KSPR into the digital age.

“There’s still a lot of technology that has to be purchased to fully complete the transition,” said Mike Scott, general manager for NBC affiliate KYTV, ABC affiliate KSPR, KY3 WeatherPlus and Ozarks CW.

Within the next few months, KSPR will install an antenna, cabling and transmitter on a 2,000-foot tower in Fordland, about 30 miles east of Springfield, and it will begin broadcasting digitally in the third quarter, Scott said. At that time, all four local broadcast stations also will be able to air network-produced programming in high-definition, but none of the stations will have the equipment necessary to locally produce high-definition programming.

“High definition is a form of digital, but not all digital is high-definition,” explained Mark Gordon, vice president and general manager for Texas-based Nexstar Broadcasting Group, which owns and operates Fox affiliate KSFX, and produces the newscasts for CBS affiliate KOLR. Ohio-based Mission Broadcasting owns the Federal Communications Commission license for KOLR. KY3 Inc., a subsidiary of South Bend, Ind.-based Schurz Communications, owns KSPR’s hard assets, and Springfield-based Perkin Media owns KSPR’s FCC license.

KOLR and KSFX, which have been under shared management since 1999, both started broadcasting digitally in January 2007 after spending about $3 million on antennas, cabling and transmitters, Gordon said.

KYTV was the first to go digital locally, making the switch in 2002, Scott said. The former owner of KSPR, Charlotte, N.C.-based Piedmont Television Holdings, hadn’t taken any steps toward digital broadcasting when KY3 acquired KSPR’s assets in August 2007, Scott said.

Neither Gordon nor Scott would predict how much their stations would eventually spend to buy all new studio equipment, though they both said their existing studio equipment could produce newscasts for digital transmission.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has embarked on a well-publicized campaign of granting $40 coupons for consumers to buy digital converter boxes. TV stations aren’t getting any government subsidies, however, and Scott said he’s OK with that.

“The infrastructure of our business is quite costly,” Scott said. “Over time, there’s just going to be technology changes that you just have to invest in.”

Increased advertising revenues should help pay for the upgrades, he said. KY3 WeatherPlus is an example of “multicasting.” Digital signals are more efficient than analog signals, and that allows stations to broadcast several channels, or signals, over the same amount of spectrum required for one analog signal, according to the FCC.

Gordon said his stations haven’t started multicasting because they believe “there’s plenty of commercial inventory available” in the Springfield TV market and they don’t yet see a strong return on investment.

Improved signal strength also could bring advertising bucks to local stations. While the reach of the analog and digital signals are basically the same for KYTV, KOLR and KSFX, KSPR should see an increase in its signal strength, Scott said. Plus, more viewers will receive sharper signals, which should help the stations sell advertising, he said.

Analog signals weaken over distance and come though on the fringes as snow, while digital signals maintain high quality throughout but immediately drop off.

“If someone were to say, ‘Well, I live someplace in Arkansas, and I can pick up your stations.’ Well, if they’re really pretty snowy and they have to do a lot of work to get them, those people might not be able to pick up our digital signal,” Gordon said. “They either get it, or they don’t.”

Impact at home

The digital TV broadcast transition, mandated by Congress to take place Feb. 17, 2009, should only affect about 20 percent of the roughly 400,000 households in the Springfield TV market, according to Mark Gordon of KOLR and KSFX. The other 80 percent of viewers have cable or satellite service and won’t need to make any equipment changes.

People who rely on free over-the-air broadcasts may need to buy a TV with an internal digital tuner or buy a set-top digital conversion box to receive digital signals.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is offering $40 government coupons for consumers to buy digital converter boxes, which should cost no more than $70, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Shannon Strother, senior sales executive at Stereo One, 2868 S. Glenstone Ave., said most TVs sold within the last three years already have internal digital tuners.

“Certainly, there is quite a bit of confusion among consumers about this subject,” said Strother, who said Stereo One hasn’t seen a significant bump in business because most of the store’s customers have cable or satellite service.

“If you receive all of your television programming via cable or satellite, the way many people do, the February ‘09 date is essentially meaningless to you,” Strother added.

Mediacom spokesman Tom Larsen said his cable company expects to gain customers in the transition because he expects people to switch to cable instead of buying new equipment. Mediacom’s basic service in Springfield has 29 channels for $22.95 a month.

“I’m sure as the date approaches that cable companies will try to aggressively market those people,” Larsen said.