DTV

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Capitol Broadcasting Company has often been referred to as a “Digital Television Pioneer,” and for good reason. In the 1990s CBC led American television stations into the digital age—breaking barriers, setting standards and blazing a DTV (digital television) trail that other stations would follow.

CBC’s early work with digital television focused on the format known as High Definition (HD). WRAL-TV obtained the first experimental HDTV (high-definition television) license in June of 1996 and became the first commercial television station in the nation to broadcast a HDTV signal a little over one month later.

By 1998, WRAL’s digital experimentation moved from transmitters to production. On October 28, 1998, WRAL produced the first live news event in HD—John Glenn’s historic return to space. The station followed that up a year later with the nation’s first all-HD documentary—“The Cape Light.”

In 2000, WRAL-TV was ready to spread HD to its news operation. On Friday, October 13, 2000—WRAL-TV broadcast its entire 5pm newscast in HD from the NC State Fairgrounds. It was the first live, all-HD newscast ever produced. Only months later, on January 28, 2001, WRAL-TV converted all its studio newscasts to HD, making it the world’s first news operation to gather and present high-definition local news on a continuous basis.

In addition to HD programming, CBC found other innovative uses for the expanded bandwidth of the digital television spectrum. WRAL-TV multi-cast all 64 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament games in 2000, splitting the bandwidth to allow the broadcast of up to four simultaneous games. Sister station WRAZ-TV/FOX 50 soon began broadcasting Durham Bulls home baseball games on its digital channel. And later, WRAL-TV used its new digital channel capacity to launch a 24-hour local news channel and weather channels.
On September 8, 2008, Capitol Broadcasting Company’s WILM became one of the first four television stations in the country to turn off its analog signal and move solely to digital transmissions.

Then on June 12, 2009, WRAL took part in the biggest change in broadcasting since the advent of color TV. CBC television stations joined others across the country in turning off their analog signals, completing the official nationwide conversion to digital television.

During this digital broadcasting transformation CBC brought leading edge technology to its other stations, including radio. WRAL-FM became the first licensed commercial radio station on the east coast to broadcast in HD Radio on December 20, 2002.

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Highlights for DTV

Wilderness North Carolina

Capitol Broadcasting Company helped establish the first HD digital cinema in the country at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. WRAL, the first HD station in the country, commissioned Art Howard (former WRAL news photographer) to travel across North Carolina to gather images with a high definition camera showcasing the diverse wilderness of our state. WRAL News anchor Bill Leslie hosts this fabulous presentation produced in 2000.
WRAL First HD Newscast from the news set 2001

January 28, 2001. WRAL-TV converted to an all-digital news operation starting with the 11:00 PM newscast. WRAL became the world’s 1st news operation to gather and present high-definition local news on a continuous basis.
First LIVE HD Newscast from State Fair October 13 2000 (Short Version)

This is a short version showing behind the scenes activity of the first HD Newscast by WRAL, the leader in HD broadcasting. On October 13, 2000 WRAL made history by broadcasting the entire 5:00 PM newscast LIVE in HD from the State Fair. The historic newscast was broadcast from a special stage at the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh. The broadcast came just days after WRAL announced it was purchasing equipment from Panasonic to allow the station to gather all of its news stories in the 1080i format. WRAL was the first in the country to convert its entire news operation into HD. This video documents the historic moment from a behind-the-scenes perspective.

In 1996, WRAL was the first station in the nation to start broadcasting in HD even though most viewers did not have an HD television set.

The complete 30 minute HD broadcast is available for viewing on this website.
HD tower construction including interview with CBC vice president John Greene

July 13, 1999 marked a milestone in the construction of WRAL-TV’s HD Digital Tower. It is among the tallest towers in the country topping off at 2,000 feet and was built by Doty-Moore Tower Services.
The video starts with an interview with CBC senior vice president John Greene, talking about the significance of this particular moment in WRAL’s HD development. Later in the video is an interview with Pat Moore, co-owner of Doty Moore Tower Services, a recognized leader in television tower construction.
Part of the ceremony involved in setting the first section of the tower is placing a “lucky penny” on top of the pin that provides a pivot point for the tower at the foundation. You will hear John say “we lost one, but this one is forever,” which refers to WRAL’s tall analog tower that crumbled to the ground in 1989 due to heavy icing during a winter storm. The HD Tower includes a new technology that allows the tower to pivot on a pin at the base.
Jim Goodmon with early HD television

CBC President Jim Goodmon poses for magazine cover photo. Goodmon has been honored numerous times for being a DTV pioneer who pushed the television industry into the future.

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Highlights for DTV

Wilderness North Carolina

WRAL First HD Newscast from the news set 2001

First LIVE HD Newscast from State Fair October 13 2000 (Short Version)

HD tower construction including interview with CBC vice president John Greene

Jim Goodmon with early HD television