ABCís Super Bowl And ""Monday Night Football"" In HDTV

25-Sep-02

ABC Television Network President Alex Wallau has announced that the most-watched and highest-profile sporting events of the year, including the Super Bowl, games of the National Basketball Association finals and the Stanley Cup, will be broadcast in HDTV on ABC this season. In addition ABC announced that it will broadcast the 2003-2004 season of ""Monday Night Football"" in HDTV.""Live sporting events provide the best platform to showcase the dramatic benefits of high definition television,"" said Mr. Wallau. ""Weíre delighted to broadcast these sporting events in HDTV, including the most-watched television event of the year, the Super Bowl.""ABC currently broadcasts the majority of its primetime schedule, including all of its scripted dramas, comedies and theatrical movies, in HDTV. The 2002-03 primetime HDTV broadcasts, sponsored by Zenith Electronics Corporation, include the new programs ""8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter,"" ""Life With Bonnie,"" ""Push, Nevada,"" ""MDs,"" ""That Was Then,"" and ""Less Than Perfect."" These programs join such ABC stalwarts as ""NYPD Blue"" and ""The Practice"" in HD, bringing the Networkís total HDTV primetime broadcasts to more than 13 hours per week.ABC was the first major network to broadcast in HDTV, beginning in November 1998, and it is the only major broadcast network currently airing its HD programming in DolbyÆ Digital 5.1-channel surround sound. All of ABCísprograms will use 720 Progressive (720P), ABCís selected HDTV format.In September 2001, ABC made a major commitment to HDTV programming when it began broadcasting the majority of its schedule in HDTV, including all of its scripted primetime comedy and drama series, as well as all theatricalmovies. For the 2001-02 broadcast season, ABC broadcast more than 260 hours of HDTV programming, and the Network plans to broadcast even more hours in HD this season.ABC began broadcasting HDTV, including Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound, beginning on November 1, 1998, with the theatrical presentation of ""The Wonderful World Of Disney: 101 Dalmatians."" Since then ABC has broadcastmany other theatricals in HDTV, as well as numerous sporting events. Those include the first live, regularly scheduled HDTV sporting event in primetime, the 1999-2000 season of ""Monday Night Football."" ABC has also broadcast ""Super Bowl XXXIV"" and the ""2000 National Hockey League All-Star Game"" in HDTV. Currently 64 of ABCís owned and affiliated stations are broadcasting digital TV, covering 63 percent of the nation, with 48 of those stations broadcasting in HDTV.ABC will air ""Super Bowl XXXVII"" on January 26, 2003, from San Diego, California. The NBA finals are scheduled for June 4-18, 2003, and the Stanley Cup for May 31-June 9, 2003