High Def Production Becoming Required, Says Borrelli
The Media Industry Buzz
TODAY'S COMMENTARY
Thursday, June 22nd 2006
by Jack Myers ,
Football fans will experience advanced state-of-the art high definition production this fall when NBC introduces Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football moves to ESPN. "They are using the latest generation capabilities," says Lou Borrelli, CEO of NEP Broadcasting, which provides production trucks for most live sports and entertainment events. "From a viewers' standpoint," Borrelli suggests, "the competition in football is Madden 2007. The young male demographic is playing video games where the quality of the picture is close to the visual experience of a real game plus they get to pick players and plays." Borrelli believes "personalization and customization of media is fueling technological advances and creativity in live events. The production quality fans experience in NASCAR events, featuring multiple high def in-car cameras, now applies in any sport."
One of the cable industry's most popular executives during the 1980s and 90s, Borrelli was named CEO two years ago of Pittsburgh-based NEP, which provides technology and solutions to networks that are capturing or transmitting live events on television. Recent high definition coverage includes the U.S. Open golf tournament for NBC at Winged Foot, the NBA Finals for ABC, NASCAR on Fox and the Stanley Cup playoffs.
"The move to high definition has created an unusual supply and demand imbalance," Borrelli told Jack Myers Media Business Report in an exclusive interview. "The transition to high def hit the nitrous button six months ago. It's driven by sports and entertainment, and not every live show that wants to be produced in high def can be. There aren't enough high def equipment packages to meet the demand," he advises.
The big issue, Borrelli believes, is "it will be one to two years before HD production is required as a basic cost of doing business by consumers, advertisers and anyone who has an interest in what networks and stations are programming. Otherwise," says Borrelli, "your programming just won't measure up." He believes local stations will soon require syndicated talk programs to be produced in HD. Most cable networks, including ESPN2 and Comedy Central continue to produce in standard definition although pressure is growing for them to convert to HD. News programming is also primarily standard definition because stations are not converting remote camera equipment to HD and it would be too glaring to viewers to mix HD studio production with standard definition for on-location footage. But as stations convert, by federal mandate, to all digital formats no later than 2009, HD will increasingly become the norm.
"We're seeing some cable networks and production companies put together channels to aggregate HD content," Borrelli adds. "From a cable industry perspective, more HD content is a competitive opportunity. Viacom could aggregate its content from several networks into a stand-alone HD channel. If you're a network group with multiple programs and networks, cable operators would find your HD channel attractive."
Borrelli believes changes in HD equipment will help drive increased production. The two primary equipment manufacturers, Grass Valley and Sony, he explains, have invested heavily in development of high-end production equipment that meets the "bells and whistles" needs of major events. But Borrelli sees a new focus on mid-level equipment he refers to as HD lite. "The quality of signal is no different but the feature sets that add to costs are restricted. Manufacturers are recognizing that there is an opportunity now in the mid market."
Lou Borrelli can be contacted at this email address
