What of the Arab World?
In the Arab World, two broadcasters have already announced plans to transmit in high definition. Al Jazeera International, the English-language news channel that is to be launched this Spring, will broadcast all of its programs in high definition. And the Jordan-based ART, who has acquired exclusive rights to the broadcast of the World Cup to the Arab World, will transmit all of the 64 games in high definition. However, despite the fact that tens of millions of Arab soccer fans are expected to be glued to their sets for the course of the tournament this June, the number of those likely to take advantage of ART’s HD signal may be modest. “None of us thinks that there are six people in the Middle East who can receive high definition,” says the head of ART Sport Charles Balchin. Consumers, he argues, are reluctant to pay large sums for HDTV sets and decoders when so little HD content is available. “No one,” he predicts, “will buy HD equipment for just one month.” Balchin may be underestim
