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The Oregonian

Oct. 8--Everybody loves Raymond, but Portland-area cable viewers can't love him in high definition.

A fight between Portland's CBS affiliate and cable operator Comcast Corp. has kept cable subscribers from seeing "Everybody Loves Raymond," "CSI," "JAG" and other CBS programs and sports coverage in crisp high-definition television. The affiliate, KOIN (Channel 6), is the lone Portland broadcaster whose HDTV programs aren't on cable.

Comcast began delivering HDTV in Portland a year ago this month, providing picture resolution many times sharper than the analog TV broadcasts most viewers still see. High-definition televisions are expensive, and few households have them, but the number is growing quickly.

KOIN has broadcast HDTV over the airwaves for more than two years but won't let Comcast deliver the station's high-definition programming unless Comcast agrees to pay an unspecified fee.

"I don't think we should be expected to give it away," said David Lippoff, KOIN's general manager.

Comcast pays cable channels a fee to show their programs and collects a fee from viewers for access to those programs. Broadcasters aren't paid, though, and Lippoff said local TV stations should be entitled to the same consideration as cable networks.

Comcast isn't having any of it. The company, which blames programming fees for its fast-rising cable rates, would only say it is "hopeful" that KOIN and KOIN's parent company, Emmis Communications Corp., will change their minds.

"They are the only broadcast station in Oregon and Southwest Washington that has refused" to provide the HDTV signal, said Theressa Davis, Comcast's Oregon spokeswoman.

Cable channels ESPN, Discovery, Showtime and HBO, among others, make many of their programs available in both low-definition and high-definition formats. Additionally, Portland's ABC, NBC and PBS affiliates broadcast both low- and high-definition signals over the airwaves and on Comcast's cable system. Portland's Fox affiliate plans to launch its HDTV on Oct. 15 and expects Comcast will carry the signal.

Although the number of high-definition programs has ballooned in the last year, HDTV is still something of a novelty in U.S. homes. Data on Portland viewership are not available, but industry researcher firm The Yankee Group estimates that just 11 percent of U.S. households have HDTV. They forecast half of U.S. homes will own high-definition sets by the end of 2008.

For now, early adopters believe they're the real losers in the fight between KOIN and Comcast.

"Once you start watching shows in (high definition), it's brutal to go back to old, low-definition broadcasts," said Michael Zaretsky of Tualatin, who spent $3,000 on an HDTV two years ago. "It's like getting used to fine food and going back to McDonald's."

Zaretsky's favorite shows are "Cold Case" and "CSI," both on CBS. Although he watches other networks in high-definition, Zaretsky said, he isn't getting a full return on his investment in HDTV.

To see HDTV, viewers need a TV built to display the high-definition picture. Low-end models can still cost around $1,000. Viewers can then receive HDTV signals over the airwaves with a specially equipped antenna, through select satellite broadcasts or over cable.

Comcast customers must pay a monthly fee of $6.75, or $5 if they already subscribe to digital cable, for a decoder to access the HDTV signal. Cable customers within range of KOIN's broadcast signal can receive the station's high-definition programming over the airwaves, but they have to buy an antenna and manually switch their TV input every time they go from broadcast to cable and back.

KOIN parent Emmis Communications is seeking HDTV fees from cable companies in all 14 markets where it owns TV stations. The company said only one has agreed to show its high-definition programming on cable.

In Portland, Comcast and KOIN aren't negotiating on the issue at present and neither side gave any indication that it expects to resolve the dispute soon.

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