CBS said this week its owned-and-operated stations in Boston and Chicago will begin using Sony's HD XDCAM Professional Disc system in March. The other 15 CBS O&O's will convert to Sony HD by 2007.
CBS has been involved in HD implementation longer than most commercial networks and was the first to broadcast an NFL game in 1998 (which, by the way, was underwritten by Sony). It also was the first to broadcast a major golf tournament, The Masters, in HD (again, underwritten by guess who?) and the first to begin converting primetime programming to HD in 1999.
In October 2005, CBS News began acquiring content using the Sony optical system, which the network said in a statement has resulted in a news operation and production workflow that allows footage to be shot, edited and sent to air in a faster and more efficient manner than before.
