Samsung Electronics and major U.S. cable operators have launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign for high-definition TV, in a push to bring the technology into more homes. The campaign, launched Monday, includes ads across TV, newspapers and Internet sites. It is strongly tied to the U.S. college basketball championships, also known as "March Madness."
High-definition TV (HDTV) provides a sharper picture than standard television and offers sound quality similar to that of compact discs. It is seen as the next big trend in broadcasting.
Sales of big-screen digital TVs, such as those sold by Samsung Electronics, have jumped in anticipation of growth in HDTV programming, which has been slow to develop. HDTV is still rare in most U.S. homes, but cable and satellite companies have been racing to make the technology available as they increasingly compete for customers.
Peter Weedfald, vice president of strategic marketing and new media for Samsung Electronics America, said the campaign is expected to continue for the rest of the year.
"We are going to spend millions and millions of dollars to drive awareness,'' Weedfald said.
The Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing and the U.S. arm of South Korea's Samsung are behind the ad campaign. The cable companies involved represent some 95 percent of cable subscribers in the United States, they said. They included Adelphia Communications, Comcast, Bright House Networks, Charter Communications, Insight Communications, Mediacom Communications, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable .
The companies declined to detail how much was being spent on the ad campaign, but said it was an "eight-figure number'' --or more than $10 million.
Under the marketing effort, consumers will be offered a $100 discount if they purchase a Samsung television and sign up for HDTV programming with their local cable provider.
Weedfald said the effort's success will be judged both by retail sales of TVs and by the pace of customers signing up for cable HDTV services.
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