FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 11 , 1998
For additional information contact:
Susan Dahlin, 919-790-5720
E-mail:sdahlin@cbc-raleigh.com
WRAL-HD Gets Extension On Experimental High Definition (HDTV) Station
Raleigh, NC —The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) granted an extension of authority to Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. (CBC) to continue transmiting an experimental digital television (DTV) signal on Channel 32 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The extension will allow CBC to continue to operate their test facility, WRAL-HD, until September 4, 1999. In July of 1996, WRAL-HD became the first station in the nation to begin broadcasting DTV.
In their extension of authority, the FCC noted “WRAL-HD’s efforts will continue to make significant contributions to the expeditious development of DTV, leading to its early implementation in the broadcasting industry.” It goes on to say that the public interest would be served by a continuance of the experimental station.
For the past two and a half years, WRAL-HD has operated as a test bed for all major manufacturers that produce everything from receivers to modems to antennae. Traveling kiosks, which display the WRAL-HD signal, have gone to state fairs, government agencies, universities, shopping malls, civic organizations and broadcast industry venues to demonstrate the new technology first hand to the public.
“In order to speed the transition to HDTV, we must work together as an industry — promoting the new technology, inviting people to see it and answering questions”, says James F. Goodmon, Chief Executive Officer and President of Capitol. “WRAL-HD is doing everything it can to make people aware of HDTV and its superior quality.”
While WRAL-HD continues to showcase the technology during the course of the year, CBC prepares for the next phase of their digital conversion. A digital tower will be built to transmit CBC’s licensed DTV signal on Channel 53. Completion of the tower is estimated to coincide with the expiration of the experimental station in September of ’99.
Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. is a diversified communications company which owns and/or operates WRAL-TV, WRAL-Digital, WRAL-FM, Microspace, the North Carolina News Network, DTV Plus, Wolfpack Sports Marketing, and Capitol Sports Management in Raleigh, NC; WJZY-TV and WFVT-TV in Charlotte, NC; WILM-TV in Wilmington, NC; WRAZ-TV and the Durham Bulls Baseball Club in Durham, NC; and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Baseball Club in Myrtle Beach, SC; Capitol Broadcasting Company also founded Local TV on Satellite in Raleigh, NC.
