For sports fans, this weekend was chock-a-block with choice – baseball playoffs, golf, football (NCAA, NFL, CFL) and hockey. It was the perfect showcase for high-definition technology, which makes watching sports on TV a completely different experience.
Unfortunately, HD still has low penetration among couch potatoes even though there are an increasing number of programs being broadcast in HD. The biggest adoption obstacle are the cablecos and satellite-TV companies that continue to insist that consumers pay an additional fee for the privilege of having HD. While it’s not a high cost – $5 to $10 a month – a lot of consumers have decided they can live without HD.
The decision to charge extra for HD is a mistake. For one, it’s impeding the adoption of HD. Two, it’s the wrong approach from a marketing/sales perspective. It’s not HD that people will payfor, it’s the channels that feature HD. For example, if HD channels were bundled together – say NFL games – for a few dollars over a non- HD package, consumers might be happy to pay for the programming as opposed to technology.
As Jack Myers points out, HD also drives sales of digital set-top boxes, which make it easier for consumers to purchase premium packages and services such as video-on-demand. If marketed and sold differently, HD could become ubiquitous in a very short period of time – particularly given the upgrade cycle happening as consumers buy new large-screen TVs that are HD-ready.
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I’m always amazed at the number of HD-ready TV’s used in public places that still show “stretched” versions of standard def channels and the operator of the location thinks they are showing HD.
It would behoove the cablecos and satcos to go out to these public places (such as my car dealer and fitness club) and give them an HD set top box with a free HD upgrade just to show off the real HD performance.
And, btw, you can buy that HD version of NFL games — several games each Sunday are available on the NFL Sunday Ticket subscription at no additional charge (and the same subscription gets you NHL, MLB and NBA with some games in HD).
Rogers cable does not actually charge more for the basic HD channels which includes Canadian and US networks, Rogers Sportsnet, etc. You have to pay an extra fee for US west coast channels, TSN and specialty HD channels. But all of the sports you are mentioning is free as long as you have an HD box.
Even better – it is TOTALLY FREE if you are willing to watch HD over the air. Just throw up an antenna and most folks in the GTA can pick up all of the Buffalo plus Toronto stations in HD – that is assuming your TV has an ATSC tuner.
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