Cable Group Assails Rule on Digital TV

The key players in the cable TV industry vowed Tuesday to fight efforts to require them to carry high-definition programs from broadcasters, saying the new digital technology will take up so much transmission capacity that it will force cable operators to drop scores of channels.

National Cable Television Assn. President Decker Anstrom said his group will oppose any effort to enforce a long-standing Federal Communications Commission rule that requires cable operators to transmit signals from broadcasters.

“This is not about what serves the interests of TV set manufacturers or broadcasters but . . . consumers,” Anstrom said.

Just days ago, the cable industry’s position was lambasted as “arrogance” by one of its main critics, Edward O. Fritts, chief executive of the National Assn. of Broadcasters.

The battle between the cable companies and broadcasters is escalating just as the technology is scheduled to be introduced this fall in the nation’s 10 largest TV markets, bringing consumers super-sharp pictures and crystal-clear sound.

The CBS and NBC television networks have declared they will broadcast some of their prime-time schedule in the so-called high-definition digital format that provides the sharpest and most detailed picture but also gobbles up the most channel capacity. ABC has taken the middle ground, committing to a high-definition signal of slightly lower quality than its two network rivals.

But the Fox TV network and certain computer-industry giants like Microsoft Corp. are pushing lower-resolution digital formats that don’t even qualify as high-definition TV, according to a digital TV standards group in Washington.

Cable giant Tele-Communications Inc. and other cable companies, have a lot at stake in the issue. TCI’s influential chairman, John Malone, is attempting to resolve the differences in direct negotiations with the networks.

Because two-thirds of American households have cable TV, the bickering between cable operators and broadcasters is bound to have broad impact. Any delay could slow acceptance and raise the cost of a groundbreaking technology that could boost the U.S. economy and help maintain the nation’s lead in a key sector.

Meanwhile, the FCC is examining its rules that require cable operators to carry the primary signal from broadcasters. Yet it remains unclear just what kind of picture viewers who shell out $5,000 to $10,000 for digital TV sets will see this fall.

To be sure, not every cable company is opposing high-definition TV. Time Warner Inc., one of the nation’s largest cable TV providers, has indicated that most of its systems can handle any digital TV format. Likewise, a spokesman for Media One Inc., the nation’s No. 3 cable operator, said half of its systems have already been upgraded to carry huge amounts of high-definition TV and other digital fare.

But TCI’s system is less robust. By year-end, less than half of TCI’s 10.5 million subscribers will receive more than 75 channels; most other large cable companies will offer more than 100 channels to 60% or more of their subscribers, according to industry estimates.

As a result, TCI is more likely than other major cable operators to infuriate viewers by dropping popular cable channels to make room for the networks’ digital broadcasts.

To avert that, the company is quietly working to reach agreement on a format with the four major broadcast networks.

“Our goal is to have a consensus within six weeks,” said TCI President Leo Hindery, who met a week ago in New York with CBS Chief Executive Mel Karmazin to pitch the format that is backed by ABC and to some degree by Fox rather than the more aggressive approach preferred by CBS.

Hindery says that the robust digital format embraced by high-definition TV proponents requires more capacity than lower-resolution formats and would add at least $20 to the cost of each cable TV set-top box, a potential $1.4-billion expense to the cable industry.

Though spurned by broadcasters, TCI’s goal of a single standard is embraced by many others with a stake in the digital TV debate.

Consumer electronics and computer makers along with television affiliates agree that the divergent approaches of the networks will make it costlier for consumers and the industry to convert from analog to digital technology, slowing a government-mandated process that is slated for completion within eight years.