SHOCKLEY'S TV STATIONS AHEAD OF COMPETITION ON DIGITAL
With many small-market broadcasters delaying move to DTV, Shockley Communications went opposite direction and was quick to equip its 6 TV stations for high-definition transmissions once FCC set parameters -- and long before Commission’s May 1, 2002, deadline for group’s small-market stations to go digital. Commission FCC official said Shockley was only small group to move so quickly into digital. Hundreds of stations still haven’t installed necessary equipment and are taking a “wait-and-see attitude” -- particularly in markets below 100. Typical viewpoint is that of Michael McKinnon, owner of TV independent station in San Diego and 2 ABC affiliates in Tex., who told us last spring: “I'm going to be the No. 3 or No. 4 guy in digital in my markets… I want the other guys to get an arrow in the back” (CD March 23 p6).
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When stations were sold last fall for undisclosed amount, licensee got full return on its investment for future, Pres. Terry Shockley said: “We had positioned the stations for the future by going digital and it paid off. We got a full return on our investment… and assisted our shareholders on liquidation.”
Shockley’s largest market is Madison, Wis., No. 85 in Nielsen’s Designated Market Area (DMA). Shockley said group had spent about $26 million ($3.5-$5 million per station, depending on need for new tower) on “the digital rollout up to now,” and will spend another $3-$4 million. “We started several years ago and we have made steady progress… We haven’t bought cameras yet because we're waiting for the technology to settle down,” he told us.
WKOW-DT Madison received FCC’s 6th DTV grant and was 9th station to go on air with high-definition signals, Shockley said. Group’s final station (5 are in Wis., 6th is KXLT-TV Rochester, Minn.) to go digital was WQOW-TV Eau Claire, which moved into new digital-equipped physical plant last month. “It was our feeling from the beginning… to first of all provide to the viewer a higher quality picture,” he said.
Shockley said “we've been asked many times why we did it” -- made huge investments in digital so early in game. He said company moved fast for several reasons -- including better quality pictures, to be ready for future opportunities in multicasting, datacasting and interactive TV, good deals with equipment manufacturers, to put expenses on annual basis rather than “all at once” when FCC deadline arrived, and fact that “some of our facilities needed a general overhaul anyway” -- and never has looked back: “Our stations are ready for the new millennium… Even our analog broadcasts look better. Quality wise, we've advanced the ball considerably.”
Group is using 720p system, favored by ABC, which leaves more spectrum space available for ancillary services than 1080i, and is keeping all its extra capacity while waiting for network to come up with joint plan with affiliates for its future use, Shockely said. Wis. stations all are ABC affiliates, while KXLT-TV is Fox affiliate. Shockley stations haven’t made deal with iBlast or Geocast for use of that ancillary space because “we look at the digital spectrum as beachfront property and we've tried to preserve that” for future, he said. “In my mind, it’s going to be extremely valuable in future years [and] we're keeping our powder dry.”
To date, only WKOW-DT has satellite facilities to broadcast small amount of ABC digital programming offered to stations, but Shockley is installing uplinks at its other stations. WKOW-DT offers “a small amount” of local programming and commercials in DTV, Shockley said, and “we're not much different than the early rollout” of other new technology -- such as color TV and cable. He said he didn’t have figures on penetration of digital receivers in Madison homes, but said American TV (largest set retailer in Wis.) said that 50% of large-screen sets sold in state were digital equipped.
Note: Sale of Shockley stations is awaiting FCC approval and, with exception of KXLT-TV, they are expected to be taken over this spring by Quincy (Ill.) Newspapers. Shockley and his family are buying back Minn. station.