US TV Widescreen

Yep - and some don't have any subchannels at all. 1080/60i in MPEG2 is quite bandwith hungry - and the US ATSC system has 19Mbs per channel. If you take 4 or 5Mbs for subchannels (say 1-2.5Mbs each) then you quickly end up compromising your main HD service which runs at 13-15Mbs which is quite marginal for decent quality.

720/60p is a bit more forgiving.

PBS - I think - run 4 subchannels during the day, in addition to their main SD service, but they ditch these in the evening in many cases if they have the HD service, and just simulcast the SD service alongside the HD one?

Most stations use these for news and weather services such as NBC Weather Plus. PBS, according to the article above split theirs into 4 SD channels during he day[/quote]

Also, while newscasts in widescreen in the UK are very common, only just over 30 local affiliates broadcast news in 16:9 SD or HD

The best way to explain how the US does networks is to sorta compare it to ITV. In America, there are no state broadcasters like the BBC for example - although there is a Public Broadcasting System (PBS, as we've mentioned) that is close though, and has no commercial interuptions at all. All of the broadcasters are commercial based, and there are no license fees.

There are 6 well-known English language networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, My Network TV and The CW. The country is divided into 210 markets, ranked by viewership by Neilson called DMAs. Each network (in most markets) has an affiliate station for each of the networks, plus some foreign language network affiliates (like the Spanish language Telemundo and Univision), some of the lesser networks, and independent stations in some markets.

During non-network programming, all of the affiliates take on a regional identity, based off their call letters, or a channel number - like for example, Denver's 7, KOMO 4, and NBC 4 New York. They air syndicated programs, local newscasts, and sometimes locally produced content. But, during networked programming, promotions and commercials programmed by the network on their feed is commonplace, but there are still local advertisements and promotions too once in a while.

Most of the affiliates of a network are owned by external companies, and some bigger companies even own multiple stations in different markets! But, there are also affiliates (mainly in larger markets) that are owned and operated by the network they are affiliated with. Sorta like ITV when it started to merge together, some stations were now "owned" by the future ITV plc making them O&O's of ITV, and there was still franchises owned by other companies. But now, most of the ITV markets are O&O markets now - except for Northern Ireland and Scotland of course!

Another thing - affiliation is done through contracts and not franchises and Olympic style bids. If a station doesn't renew it's contract and another station ends up taking the affiliation - they could end up losing the network they were affiliated with and would either have to become independent or take the network displaced by the other station.

But, the FCC has limits on how many stations you can own, and you also cannot own the top 2 stations in each market - so what has happened with ITV (almost ALL of the "affiliates" being O&O's now) would be illegal.

At least the local affiliates in the US don't try to cover up the identity of the main network like STV and UTV do...

Theres no such thing as 16:9 SD in the US - it just doesn't happen. If a newscast is in 16:9 then its HD and the station had to upgrade their facilities with HD equipment which is a massive undertaking hence why the majority of US news is still 4:3.

I repeat, theres no such thing as 16:9 SD in the US!

Actually, there is. It's just a bit more rare - most stations go for the HD: but a few stations have gone to at least widescreen just to save the costs of upgrading everything to HD. Also, 16:9 SD comes up sometimes in HD newscasts sometimes as live field reports cannot be done in HD due to technical limitations, but they CAN go widescreen on them at least.

Also, for American Football, if the network has to cover multiple games (and due to lack of equipment), they ususally do it in 16:9 widescreen.

For an example of a 16:9 newscast, take a look at WHIO in Dayton - yeah they did get new graphics and new music and it is widescreen, but note how the anchor calls it a "widescreen" newscast and not a "high definition" newscast. It IS 16:9 SD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG7zqPRuCFA

(note, the uploader does call it HD, but it is NOT). They do NOT have HD cameras, they will get them later this year. If that is the case, expect them to change it to NewsCenter 7 HD.

Sorry - that is way off the mark.

A large number of local stations airing their news in 16:9 HD haven't upgraded their live trucks to HD - and instead use 16:9 SD (sometimes even NTSC composite) gear upconverted to HD for their lives.

Additionally there are quite a few 16:9 SD productions - certainly those made by Granada US (Nanny 911 or SuperNanny?) that are shot 16:9 SD and upconverted, as are a number of sporting events. Equally quite a few PBS shows are shot 16:9 SD.

It is also important to remember that until recently Fox Widescreen was 16:9 SD originated - when they broadcast 16:9 480/60p they were shooting 16:9 480/60i and de-interlacing for broadcast.