DVR Alert: "Lake Erie: Beyond the Surface"

Channel 3 aired a very special program this last Saturday Night at 7 pm called "Lake Erie: Beyond the Surface" hosted by WKYC Chief Meteorologist Mark Nolan.

If case you missed the show, you can watch it right now on-line. Just click on the segment number and enjoy:

Segment #1
Segment #2
Segment #3
Segment #4

What makes this program special is that is will be the first non-news or sports programs we are doing in true HD - from the shooting to the editing and the broadcasting - all done in high definition from start to finish.

This is part of our commitment to make our viewers more aware of High Definition broadcasting - and in particular - that we are getting close to the analog TV stations signing off on February 17, 2009.

Media outlets, like ours, will be helping to further educate the public - and this is certainly one way we can do our part while bringing viewers some interesting and informative, original programming about one of our greatest natural resources, Lake Erie.

Look for more of these programs in the coming months. For more information on the show, Click Here.

Director's Alert: Channel 3 Gets Most Emmy Nominations for 2006

The Emmy nominations were announced last night and WKYC earned 22 nominations for work done in 2006 - more than any other Cleveland station. The Emmy Awards ceremony will be held in September. Congratulations to all my WKYC colleagues. For the complete NATAS list, Click Here.

2006 WKYC Emmy Nomination List

Oustanding Daily Newscast Markets 1-20
Channel 3 News at 11PM - Rita Andolsen, Romona Robinson, Dan Stadler, Frank Macek, Mike McCormick

Outstanding Morning or Daytime Newscast Markets 1-20
Channel 3 News Today - David Grendzynski

Spot News
"Underpass Rescue" - Paul Thomas

Live/Breaking News
"Lake County Floods" - David Grendzynski

Service News Story - Series
"Hey, Carl Monday!" - Carl Monday
"Workplace Danger" - Carl Monday

News Report - Hard News
"Predator Detective" - Jennifer Murphy

News Report - Soft News
"Gator Man" - David Grendzynski

News Series - Hard News
"Library Crime" - Carl Monday, Mike Leonard, Bill Safos, Brandi Paulson

News Series - Soft News
"Deputy Midge" - Michael O'Mara
"Marky" - Vic Gideon

Crafts: Journalistic Enterprise
"Carl Monday - Cleveland's Investigative Reporter" - Carl Monday

Crafts: Anchor - News
"Lake County Flooding" - Kim Wheeler

Crafts: On Camera Talent - News
"Carl Monday - On Camera" - Carl Monday

Crafts: Director - Non - News
"Cleveland Indians Baseball"- Patrick J. Murray
"Race for the Cure" - Matthew Babb

Crafts: Editor - News
"Paulson Composite" - Brandi Paulson

Crafts: Writer - Non- News
"2006 Writing Composite" - Mac Mahafee

Special Programs
"Medical Miracles" - Dean Cummings

Sports Programs - Regularly Scheduled
"Cleveland Indians Baseball" - Patrick J. Murray, Steve Warren

Station Promotion - Single Spot
"Hey, AM" - Monique Jackson, Steve Pullen

On-Air Station Promotion - Station Created News Topicals
"Mommy Inc." - Stacy Yacobozzi, Monique Jackson


*Additional WKYC & Partner Organization Emmy Nominations

Sports Programs - Specials
"Showdown at the Shoe" - Joseph Ranyak, SportsTime Ohio

Public Affairs Programs - Specials
"Making The Grade: Helping Our Kids Achieve" - Dennis Goulden, Gregory T. Hickey, DBG Communications, Inc.

Interview Discussion Programs - Shows Scheduled Weekly or Less Often
"Holiday Memories" - Armond Budish, Stephanie Keough, Maria Trivisonno, Elder Productions, LLC.

From the Mailbag: Sync Issues with Good Company

From: Bruce in Canton

Q: Frank, enjoy your blog. Even though I don't work in tv, I've always found the business interesting... My actual question was this: When the sound is out of sync like it was today (Monday) on Good Company, is this an issue happening at the station, or is it the fault of our cable company (Massillon Cable)? Just always wondered when this happens whose fault it is. Thanks, and keep up the good work!

A: Keeping audio and video in sync with HD is a bit challenging when are you still working in an analog AND digital world right now. I know in the past, we have had some issues with this - but not aware of any recently. Sometimes the cable companies will have their own sync issues in the chain from when they get the signal digitally from us and rebroadcast it on their analog systems. So, it's possible their calibration is off somewhat. But, I'll keep an eye out for this.

From the Mailbag: Rick Jackson

Rick Jackson, a former WKYC staffer, who is seen nightly now on WVIZ and WCPN Radio sent us a nice e-note regarding his appearance in the "Turn to 3 Promos" we have been featuring on the blog.

Rick writes, "Wow - 22 years go by fast...thanks for the 'hairy' memories."

If you haven't seen the promo with him and Tom Beres from circa 1985, CLICK HERE. Other WKYC promos are listed under our video highlights section with many more coming soon!

News: NBC To Premiere New Game Show

Game shows where contestants have to remember lyrics to songs seems to be the latest fad in prime time programming, at least starting in July on Fox and NBC. Seems like everyone wants to be star now...so the networks are giving folks the chance...at least temporarily to see how the audience responds.

NBC's new show will be called the "The Singing Bee" which is scheduled to debut on July 10 at 9:30 pm. Update: Former NSYNC member and finalist on "Dancing with the Stars" Joey Fatone has just been named host of the show being produced by Gurin Company and Juma Entertainment.

The show was originally scheduled to debut this Fall...but was moved up on the schedule to beat Fox's "Don't Forget the Lyrics" which debuts on July 11th.

All I can say, is "Name That Tune" baby!

News: Gannett Investing in 4info

USA Today publisher & local TV station group owner, Gannett Co. (parent of WKYC) is leading a $10 million investment in mobile search, publishing and advertising firm 4info.

The company uses SMS/text messaging technology to create interactive applications, news alerts, weather updates and stock quotes.

Check out their website at: 4info

News: HD Channel Target Goals for 2007

Various companies have announced their target goals for HD Channels by the end of 2007.

These include:

DirectTV - 100 HD Channels
Cox Communications - 50 HD Channels
Cablevision - 500 HD Channels (including 15 HD from sister company Voom)
AT&T Homezone - 30 National HD Channels (Plus local channels)

News: Favorite Sporting Events to Watch in High Def

Studies show that sports tv enthusiasts have been far and away the largest group of early adapters of HD television. According to a study called "Inside the Mind of the HD Sports Fan," the following events are the top 10 sports program people want to watch in HDTV.

1. Super Bowl
2. College football bowl games
3. World Series
4. NBA Finals
5. NCAA College Basketball Tournament
6. Daytona 500
7. Olympics
8. The Masters
9. NHL Stanley Cup
10. World Cup

Courtesy: Consumer Electronic Association

Spotlight Article: Covering the Jessie Davis Story

Whether we like it or not, the Jessie Davis story has become THE local story of the year. Since I've been at WKYC, I have never seen a story covered quite like this in the past 13 years - other than on September 11th, 2001.

We've basically moved our main anchor team and a team of reporters to Stark County to cover every angle of this story including Tim White, Romona Robinson, Dave Summers, Maureen Kyle, Paul Thomas, Mike O'Mara & Kristin Anderson - along with a whole crew of engineers, technicians and on site producers.

Back at the station, we have a whole team here handling the planning of our coverage & our regular on-air operations. Today, we have been doing local updates every 30 minutes as crews searched a mound of freshly disturbed ground.

It's the biggest development so far.

Even though, we've been doing coverage since this story broke, we didn't quite expect today's developments. So, we had to do some quick planning & dispatch crews where we needed them.

I've included some pictures of our 6 PM coverage for those of you who read our blog from out of town.

Click on each picture to view them full screen.

Until this story is resolved, be sure to keep checking back with us on the blog for more behind the scenes stories.

Spotlight Article: How Commercials Get On the Air - Part 2

Last time, I discussed how the commercials you see on the air are physically made in the production phase. (If you missed part I, CLICK HERE). The second half of this series examines how the finished product gets put into our system and gets on the air. & into your homes.

In our tape room, we have an engineer whose job is to take the ready made commercials and get them into the playback commercial server. Commercials come to the station through a variety of means...by a physical tape, off a satellite, or downloaded over dedicated advertising networks.

From there, the commercials are "ingested" or downloaded into our playback system - it's a huge video server that not only handles commercials, but also records many of the syndicated programming you see on Channel 3 like "Entertainment Tonight," "Dr. Phil," & "Rachel Ray" since these shows are not done live and are delivered to the station usually off the satellite earlier in the day, or several days before they air.

Upstairs, we have a traffic department who are the schedulers of the commercials breaks. (In a broadcast environment, this traffic deparment is not associated with the traffic departments who handle roadway conditions).

Once the account executive places an order for a commercial to run, it must be computer scheduled. Advertisers will buy specific shows or certain time periods during which their commercials must run. Higher rated time periods command higher advertising rates. This all must be carefully handled to make sure the spots run properly. If not, the TV station could lose money - and possibly an advertiser.

Once the traffic department completes their play lists - a daily log of every commercial to air down to the second. This play list is sent electronically to our Master Control area where it is downloaded into the Playback Controller each day.

It becomes the Master Control Operator's duty to follow the commercial log to the second by electronically inserting the commercials where they belong at the appropriate times. Each show has its own time sheet of segment lengths. So, basically the entire broadcast day is charted out minute by minute.

Several commercials air in each break - as you well know. A show may call for 2 minutes worth of commercials. Each show has different break times and lengths. And commercials according to the available windows in each show. Commercials are generally :30 in length, but can be :04, :05, :10, :15 and in some unusual cases, a full minute (those are rare).

Once the break concludes, the Master Control operator will electronically switch back from the commercial server to the program server as the show resumes. During the newscasts, the Directors will give Master Control a cue to roll the breaks - the term we use at Channel 3 is "execute."

Now back to the old days, specifically when WKYC was located at East 6th in the old East Ohio Building - which is now rumored to become a hotel soon. Commercials were cued up manually - one at a time and played directly off huge 1" or 2" tape machines. Later on, those 1" tapes were dubbed on a format called MII (two). During the MII days, master control was run by an automation system, robotically controlled.

All the tapes were loaded in the machine for that broadcast day the night before. The computer would talk to two robots that would pull the tapes out of their home slots, insert them into the tape machines - the machines would cue up on the spot based on time code (a time system that used in broadcasting that tape machines can read). The commercials would play, the machines would eject the tapes, then the robots would return them to their holding locations. (See Picture)

Today, it's all server based. I think of it as a big old I-Pod, that runs through a play list. This is how the commercials are currently getting on the air - it's all played from a hard drive computer.

In the third part of the series, we'll take a look at how we are playing both SD and HD commercials back to back.

Your comments are welcome: fmacek@wkyc.com

News: WKYC Health Anchor Monica Robins Honored

Congratulations to Channel 3 Health Anchor Monica Robins - the first recipient of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure "Power of a Partner" Community Service Award.

Monica was honored with the award at a ceremony last week. <Click Here for Video>

The award is given to a corporation or individual for their unwavering and committed support to the Komen cause. Monica has been leading our fight against breast cancer at Channel 3 since we started our participation with the organization which is celebrating its 25th year anniversary.

It's an honor well deserved for Monica!

For more information on this year's Komen "Race for the Cure" that will take place on Saturday, September 15, 2007 at Mall B & C Downtown, you can call (216) 791-cure (2873) or visit http://race.komenneohio.org

Where Are They Now? - Marshall McPeek

We get asked on occasion, "Where in the world is Marshall McPeek?" - the easy answer is "not all that far away."

During the days of the Donna Terrell, Don Hammond & Mark Nolan morning show on WKYC, Marshall was the roving reporter who headed out every morning in search of interesting events, people & places to bring viewers as they started their days. And our viewers loved his witty sense of humor and boyish appearance.

But Marshall's real passion is meteorology.

After Marshall left Channel 3, he went to Channel 5 to polish up his weather skills, then landed at NBC 4/WCMH-TV in Columbus in January 2002 where he has been since working as the weekend morning meteorologist, co-anchor & reporter.

Marshall loves the weather so much, he has developed his own weather websites at: marshallmcpeek.com & mcweather.com

Prior to working in Cleveland, Marshall also worked as an anchor/reporter for WTOL-TV in Toledo, Ohio, and WSIL-TV in Harrisburg, Ill.

Marshall earned a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Ohio University and a broadcast meteorology certificate from Mississippi State University. Marshall has been nominated for two Emmy awards and won several Ohio Associated Press awards.

Marshall grew up in Bucyrus, Ohio, where he landed his first broadcasting gig with WBCO-AM/WBCQ-FM (now WQEL) doing everything from news to disc jockey to live remotes at the Crawford County Fair.

Marshall is a big sushi fan, has a weakness for an enormous burrito and has been known to enjoy beverages served in stemware.

You can email Marshall at: mmcpeek@wcmh.com

Web Link: NBC Studio Pass

Want to get the latest on what's happening at NBC...both behinds the scenes and on the screens?

NBC Studio Pass is a great resource I use for all NBC programming including information about shows, the latest news and sports offerings, previews, highlights & more. You can browse through full episodes, 2 minute replays and web exclusive video.

Plus, it's the place where you can watch free episodes of various, current NBC shows like Friday Night Lights, Studio 60, Passions, Heroes & Medium.

To sign up for free access, go to NBC Studio Pass.

Spotlight Article: How to Buy a Flat Screen TV

Our blog gets a lot of questions about HDTV - and that's certainly one of the big subjects we like to touch upon. So we'll offer some basic suggestions to keep in mind as you look to super size your viewing pleasure, while hopefully taking advantage of sale prices and close out discounts to help you shuck our old analog TV for a shiny new HD one.

1) Always read any ad's fine print. Often times, stores will offer limited time frames for sale items, or a limited number of models you might want.

2) Make sure you ask about price guarantees. If you find your TV selling for less someplace else within 30 days, will the store refund the difference?

3) If you accept a no-payment, no interest offer, always be sure to pay for the set completely before the term expires. If not, you'll get charged interest dating back to the date you bought the TV. This catches consumers all the time. And usually the interest rates are very high.

4) Pay with a credit card. Some card companies will mediate if you have a dispute. Others will automatically double the manufacturer's warranty.

5) Be sure to skip the extended warranties. It's a rip off and quite expensive. In general, two year-old LCD and plasma TV's have been very reliable so far.

6) Go as big as your room and budget allows. Many times HDTV purchasers had wished they bought a bigger set once they got it home and watched their first few big events.

If you have further questions that I can help you with, feel free to drop me a note: fmacek@wkyc.com

News: Internet Protocol TV Grows

Worldwide sales of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) set top boxes will soar to 7.9 million units in 2007, a growth of 111% since last year, according to a new study by Strategy Analytics. IPTV is television via the internet as opposed to over the air broadcasting, satellite or cable service.

The Asia-Pacific region will account for the bulk of the growth, amounting to 45% of the installed base, followed by Europe with 33% and the U.S. with 13%.

Worldwide DVR installations are expected to almost double from a penetration of 15% in 2006 to 29% by the end of 2007.

Courtesy: Strategy Analytics

Director's Alert: WJW being Sold by Fox

We have learned, thanks to a tip off from our partners at Ohio Media Watch and various friends at Channel 8...that WJW is being sold by Fox's parent company News Corp. This will create an interesting situation...will the station remain a Fox affiliate? will an existing market owner pick up the station as a duopoly? will the new company spend less money on the high tech gadgets? and why is Fox spending money revamping their news set currently under construction?

This will be an interesting story to follow. However, it does seem like Rupert Murdoch is looking to free up some money to buy the Wall Street Journal's Dow Jones assets, leading to his startup of the Fox Business Channel sometime this year to compete with Bloomberg and CNBC.

NEW INFORMATION: It is also interesting to note that after looking through the list of 35 O&O's, the only ones whose on air look were NOT converted to the new "FOX" look are the stations being sold. So it appears that this has been the plan for a while, since WJW has kept the old Fox look since day one of News Corporation ownership. It is also interesting to note that 4 of these markets are where Gannett (WKYC's parent company) & FOX have O&O's in the same market (Cleveland, Denver, St. Louis & Greensboro) - not that this necessarily means anything at the moment - but it's something to keep in the back of your mind as this unfolds.

Here is the partial press release from News Corp:
---------------
News Corporation Announces Plan to Sell Nine Television Stations

NEW YORK, NY, June 13, 2007 - News Corporation announced today that it plans to sell nine of its FOX network affiliated television stations. News Corporation has retained Allen & Company to advise it on potential transactions.

The stations include:
- WJW in Cleveland, OH
- KDVR in Denver, CO
- KTVI in St. Louis, MO
- WDAF in Kansas City, KS
- WITI in Milwaukee, WI
- KSTU in Salt Lake City, UT
- WBRC in Birmingham, AL
- WHBQ in Memphis, TN
- WGHP in Greensboro, NC

News Corporation has 35 owned-and-operated stations in the United States, making the Fox Television Stations (FTS) group among the largest in the nation. Following the planned sale of the nine stations, FTS will remain one of the nation's strongest and most successful station groups, with nine duopolies in major markets as well as single stations in eight mid to large sized markets.

Read more: http://www.newscorp.com

Get to Know Team 3 - Carole (Chandler) Sullivan

This "Get to Know Team 3 Feature" is with WKYC reporter Carole Sullivan who just returned to the station after leaving the morning show and moving to Michigan with her husband. Carole sat down with us to share some thoughts about her return:

Q: What have you been up to since you left Channel 3?

Carole: Packing and Unpacking. Last May, I moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan to be with my husband who was coaching at Western Michigan University. Then, when the "coaching rotation" time came (the off season time when coaches leave and take other jobs), we learned we had a chance to return to Cleveland. So we moved back this past March. But October was our most welcomed change. Baby Patrick Sullivan arrived, looking as Irish as his name. He's a little love and it's fun to experience why parents gush about their own kids. What a trip!

Q: Was it a tough decision to come back to Cleveland after moving to Michigan?

Carole: The only tough part was saying goodbye to new friends in Michigan, but we couldn't wait to return. Cleveland is home.

Q: Would you still prefer getting up early (like you did when anchoring the morning show) or do you prefer working the day shift?

Carole: The Morning Show. I love absolutely everything about it, except the hours. The people. The show format. The audience. But it's a marathon of a job. Dayside, it's a sprint to get items on the air. Then, you go home. You relax with the rest of the living. The morning show is a marathon, in that, everyday your stamina is challenged. You leave work and your entire life revolves around the fact that you work on during those early morning hours. Everything is affected. Family time, personal time. When will you sleep? Every decision is based on how it will effect your ability to be "fresh" for work. Much of that can be positive, because your days are finished when others are working, but it's a balancing act. I like to think I did a decent job finding that balance, but it is something you work at everyday of the week. FYI - Morning Show people arrive at 3am and leave at 11am which means waking up @ 1:30am. Some work 10pm-7am. Some 1am-9am. Not complaining just stating for those who aren't familiar.

Q: How has having Patrick changed your life?

Carole: I smile more, which I didn't think was possible. Family life just opens you up to a variety of new emotions and perspectives. Oh! Getting ready to go anywhere is a total crap shoot. Be kind if you see me out and I'm a mess. Hey! I'm just glad I made it out!! :) Which brings me to this... How do you moms of multiples do it? I have gained more respect for the "art" of parenting.

Q: Does your husband Mike think we have a better Browns teams this year?

Carole: This is going to be an exciting season. There has been no "off season" in Berea. The coaches and players are working so hard to make things happen this year. I think the fans will be energized watching this new offense by Coach Chudzinski and the hard work of Coach Crennel and his staff. We all know Cleveland deserves it. It would have been nice if we had an easier schedule... But right out of the gates we are playing hard ball! All good things to come!

Q: Who do you like to watch anchor the national news (on network or cable)?

Carole: Matt Lauer - Today Show; Brian Williams - Nightly News; Sheppard Smith - Fox News; Neil Cavuto - Biz News on Fox; Meredith Vieria - Today Show. I wish there was a stronger female showing in my list, but it is what it is.

Q: What do we find in your CD player in the car?

Carole: Gwen Stefani, Green Day, Dean Martin, "How to learn Spanish" - played a handful of times and no longer than 2 minutes. Just painful. But get in my car and you'll likely hear Sirius Satellite radio.

Q: What's your favorite local watering hole?

Carole: The Barking Spider ( http://www.blogger.com/www.barkingspidertavern.com ) on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Nestled behind the Arabica Coffee house at Case Western, it is always a terrific experience. Local musicians play. The windows to this cabin like place are wide open and you can sit outside on the benches and enjoy tap beer in a plastic cup. Not the tastiest way to have beer, but the atmosphere can be so tremendous. I also think everyone should experience the Slovenian Country House ( http://www.blogger.com/www.sterlescountryhouse.com ) on polka night. The old fashioned bar is nice and the show of older Clevelanders enjoying a nice polka makes you believe long term love and laughter is possible. But my favorite watering hole is at home with Mike.

Q: What's your favorite TV show?

Carole: Network TV: The Office; Cable TV: The Hills & Runs House; Yes, MTV - total guilty pleasure and completely ridiculous for someone my age. But there are more of "us" out there watching than you would believe.

Q: What's your favorite tourist attraction in Northeast Ohio to visit with the family?

Carole: You know, I just got this family within the past 2 years. So family trips around Ohio haven't kicked in, yet. I'm going to guess Cedar Point on a day when hardly anyone is there must be the absolute best! Patrick is too short right now, but not for long.

Feel free to email Carole: csullivan@wkyc.com

News: First Look at Digital Converter Boxes

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has introduced two digital converter boxes that will be used to convert analog to digital signals once we get to the February 2009 cut-off date.

South Korea's manufacturer LG and Thompson (under the RCA brand) are the first two companies to introduce the converter prototypes.

Consumers will be able to apply for two $40 coupons each from the government to help pay for the cost of the boxes, expected to go on sale this January in the United States. Estimated costs currently range from between $50 and $70 per converter.

For more information on the transition to Digital TV, visit one of the following links:
www.dtv.gov
www.dtvanswers.com
www.nab.org

DVR Alert: Tonight Show to Air Live Commercial

In the early days of both radio and TV, commercials were always done live - and integrated into the show itself. TV execs have been toying with various ways to defeat DVR and Tivo zapping (the techie word for fast forwarding through breaks) since advertisers feel they aren't reaching their audiences and started moving ad dollars to other mediums, like the Internet.

During the days of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon did live commercials on a regular basis, with the last airing in 1995.

Well Tuesday Night 6/12, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is bringing back that tradition with a live commercial to be done by booth announcer John Melendez for the satellite navigation system Garmin International.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the spot will be played out right before the second regular commercial break during the show.

NBC is experimenting with the concept and, if successful, will likely be used in the future.

Director's Alert: WKYC Takes Top Honors At Ohio AP Awards

WKYC was named Outstanding News Operation in the Major Market Television category by the Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters for 2006. Winners of the group's annual contest were announced this afternoon at an awards luncheon at the Hilton Columbus.

Channel 3 also received a number of other awards including:

Best Continuing Coverage (First Place) - WKYC-TV, Cleveland, "Summer Flood of '06"

Best Enterprise Reporting (2nd Place) - Bill Safos, WKYC-TV, Cleveland, "Pig Farm Abuse"

Best Reporter (2nd Place) - Carl Monday, WKYC-TV, Cleveland (1st place went to New Channel 3 investigative reporter, Tom Meyer)

Also, our congratulations to some of our radio partners including WTAM in Cleveland and WAKR in Akron for their awards in the various radio categories.

Check out a list of all of this year's winners: Click Here

Looking For Historical Photos: WKYC, KYW & WNBK

I'm working on a little retrospective feature and am looking for pictures of anything WKYC, KYW, or WNBK... pictures of personalities, equipment, station events, etc. - past or present.

If you are willing to share your photos, please email them to me with the understanding that they may be used for our blog site. If you could also include a brief description of what they are, I would much appreciate it.

Those who contribute will get a nice little mention on the blog.

Thank you!

Email them to me at: fmacek@wkyc.com

News: Mobile TV Use Still Stagnant

A new study by Jupiter Research shows that early adoption rates of mobile TV and online video are pretty stagnant.

Most people are still comfortable with regular TV as a source for their video viewing.

Among the findings include:

*92.4% still prefer the boob tube
*6.4% watch video on their PCs
*0.3% watch it on their cellphones
*1.6% get video off their PDA, media players or game devices

These numbers should change as cellular services, mobile device makers and TV networks continue to push the product.

Read the original article that I wrote recently about mobile TV: CLICK HERE

Courtesy: Jupiter Research

News: Building Better Flatpanel TVs

As flatpanel TV prices continue to plummet, TV makers are searching for new strategies to build value into the low-margin category.

After dangling OLED (organic light-emitting diode) in front of journalists during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and its 2007 line show in February, Sony announced plans to bring an 11 inch model out this fall in what could be a transition to a more profitable flatpanel technology.

OLED promises higher contrast and better color saturation over LCD in a thinner form factor that doesn't require a backlight, although it's too early to tell whether the company can achieve the necessary manufacturing efficiencies to compete with other flatpanel technologies.

At the other end of the spectrum, Hitachi and Panasonic parent company Matsushita announced plans in May to supply each other with 85 inch and 103 inch plasma displays. Under the terms of the deal, Panasonic will provide Hitachi 103 inch plasma panels this year, and Hitachi will supply Panasonic with 85 inch plasma panels in 2008.

Other TV makers are putting on the glitz. In a recent article, Forbes noted that the LG Electronics 71 inch plasma, which listed for $70,000 in early 2006, took a freefall to its current $15,000 price. But the company added a little bling to bring in the luxury crowd. A 24-karat gold version of the 71 inch goes for $80,000.

Plasma panel shipments were down for the first time in first-quarter 2006, due largely to an increase in market share for LCD, according to market research firm DisplaySearch. Larger screen sizes should provide an uptick in plasma sales later in the year.

Larger screen sizes hold opportunity but risks remain for chasing the larger-screen LCD market. According to the report, the LCD TV market has grown by migrating users to larger screen sizes. Moving to larger screen sizes has been successful so far for LCD suppliers, but that "this strategy could generate challenges going forward."

Meanwhile, Toshiba and Canon each scrapped plans for a fourth-quarter launch of SED (Surface-Conduction Electron-Emitter Display) TVs, which the companies hoped would bring CRT quality to the flatpanel space-along with more attractive margins.

Canon cited precipitous price declines in the flatpanel market as the culprit and said more efficient production techniques would have to be designed and implemented in order to make SED competitive in the market.

Courtesy: Sound & Video Contractor

News: A Farewell to WKYC Cameraman Mike D'Amato

After 45 years of nearly continuous service, WKYC says farewell today to longtime photographer and studio cameraman Mike D'Amato.

Mike started in the business in 1960 and has a lifetime of memories from his time as cameraman on the Mike Douglas Show. Mike has put together THE largest collection of props & memorabilia from Douglas' days here at Ch 3 before the show moved to Philly. In fact, one whole room of Mike's house is dedicated to those days.

Lately, Mike has been working with Del Donahoo on his travels, running robotic cameras for our newscasts, shooting news video in the field and running studio cameras for Good Company.

Mike is probably better known in the community than many Cleveland on-air personalities. He has been a tireless advocate for the station since day one.

Mike has decided it's time to re-rack focus onto a diferent part of life - his retirement. Enjoy it Mike. We'll miss you!

From the Mailbag: How's Tom Haley?

From: Dick in Dover-New Philadelphia

Q: Frank, I'm a periodic visitor to your blog and enjoy it very much. I'm glad Carol Sullivan is back. She's got spunk. Anyways, I grew up in Lakewood and hung around with a couple of the Haley girls and other pals on Woodford Ave. We always had to be quiet so as not to wake up "Mr. Haley," who had to get up very early, drive downtown and unlock Channel 3. I've lost touch with the family, so perhaps you could answer my question: How is Tom Haley?

A: I asked an old friend of ours, Del Donahoo, to help us on this one...and here's what I found out from him:

As far as I know Tom is doing OK...he lives in the Lakewood apartment that has been his home "forever". I don't see him often but we do visit by phone. He does some church work, hikes in Metro Park and spends time with his daughters. And, of course, he is still a golfer. That's about all I know. I'm sure he would be pleased to know that people still miss him.

Editor's Note: For those of you too young to remember Tom Haley, he was a fixture on the Cleveland airwaves from his radio years at the original WTAM to co-host of "Today in Cleveland." He retired from WKYC in 1997.

Tom was most recently in the WKYC studios visiting during Del's retirement party earlier this year.

Send me your emails to: fmacek@wkyc.com

News: DVDs for Troops

This is an item that I came across this afternoon. It's something you can do if you are looking for a way to help entertain our troops in Iraq.

Operation DVD is collecting new and used DVDs to distribute overseas to U.S. Military troops.

The year old program has already collected more than 250,000 DVDs. However, their goal is to reach 1 million so that 200 titles can be in rotation at each base.

If you are interested in contributing either DVDs or in other ways, you can find more information on the Operation DVD website: www.operationdvd.us