Lack Of HDTV Programming Threatens ToUndermine DTV

Attendees at the April convention of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) were told by FCC commissioner Susan Ness that a lack of high-definition digital programming is threatening to undermine the rollout of digital television. ""The dearth of programming is a real problem,"" Ness said. ""The fall season is just five months away, and this is the part of digital TV where we need improvement.""Fifty-seven stations in 20 markets have begun some digital TV broadcasts. The NAB estimates that 44 percent of the nationís viewers could receive a digital signal if they had digital sets and expects 60 percent coverage by the end of 1999.With a general of significant DTV set market penetration, Ness is pushing broadcasters to offer programming to create critical mass demand for the sets. ""For the fall of 1999, we need to hear more plans for digital programming,"" she said.