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WRAL Broadcasts Christmas Parade in HD |
WRAL-TV once again made digital history, and this time with a holiday twist. WRAL broadcast the 56th annual Raleigh Christmas parade in high definition, becoming the first in the Triangle to broadcast the parade in HD and joining a short list of stations nationally who have televised parades in HD.
The man in red, Santa Claus, was hit among young parade goers. |
Over 80,000 watched the parade from the street with another 150,000 watching from hom.e |
The parade took place on Saturday, November 18 at 10:00am starting at the corner of Hillsborough and St. Mary’s Streets, then winding downtown and ending at the corner of Lenoir and Salisbury Streets beyond the State Capitol. Approximately 80,000 people lined the streets to watch the parade. WRAL-TV anchors Pam Saulsby and Jim Payne hosted the event, with Meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner reporting from the streetside. Producer Randy Mews coordinated the coverage. Anchors David Crabtree, Debra Morgan, Renee McCoy, Meteorologist Chris Thompson and Education Reporter Yvonne Simons rode on the WRAL-TV5 float.
The broadcast originated from one of the world’s first High Definition Live Trucks, which is owned and operated in part by Capitol Broadcasting Co. (WRAL-TV). The parade aired on WRAL-TV5 live at 10:00am, and on WRAL Digital, Channel 53 at 6:00pm. This year marked the 27th year the parade has been televised, and WRAL has televised the parade every year.
The broadcast of the parade received high ratings during its two hour, live broadcast on WRAL at 10:00am on Saturday morning, an 8.2 rating and a 21 share. That translates to over 70,000 households watching the parade on WRAL-TV5, approximately 150,000 people.
Copies of the broadcast can be ordered by calling Video Taping Services at 755-0104 or toll free at (800) 849-5547.
