Originally Posted by StLToday

It appears as if Charter, the area's largest cable provider, will not be offering the high-definition version of the Super Bowl telecast for the second season in a row.Last year ABC had the game, and its local affiliate (KDNL, Channel 30) didn't provide its HD signal to Charter. Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns KDNL, wanted to be paid for providing that service, but Charter refused in a continuing situation. So the game appeared on Charter only via a conventional analog transmission.

This year CBS has the Super Bowl and on Thursday its local affiliate, KMOV (Channel 4), removed its HD signal from Charter for the same reason — it wants to be paid. Four other stations also owned by Belo Corp. pulled the HD plug on Charter.

KMOV's HD signal remains available on satellite operators DirecTV and Dish Network, and can be picked up over the air for free by viewers who have an HD television tuner and an antenna. This also was the case last year.

"We got a gift from God this week from Charter,'' said Richard Schneider, head of Antennas Direct, a Wildwood-based company that specializes in such devices.''

He said the antennas sell from about $18 to $150, with the price depending on the model that is needed, with the average price being about $50. Tuners go for about $100 to $150.

"But the big difference this year is that the government passed a law essentially saying any TV over 36 inches has to have a tuner built into it as of January 2006,'' Schneider said. "I've noticed that almost anything bigger than 30 inches now has the tuner. So anybody who has bought an LCD or plasma TV in the last 12 to 18 months probably has one built in.''

Charter spokeswoman Anita Lamont said a deal still might be reached with KMOV before the Super Bowl, which is set for Feb. 4.

"We're still talking — that's the good thing,'' she said. "There still is quite a bit of time.''