The Florida Times-Union
First Coast News, which airs on Jacksonville NBC affiliate WTLV TV-12 and ABC affiliate WJXX TV-25, plans to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition starting with the 5 p.m. news on Monday. And Action News, which broadcasts on CBS affiliate WTEV TV-47 and Fox affiliate WAWS TV-30, expects to also be showing its news in HD by Monday.
The other local television newscaster, independent station WJXT TV-4, began broadcasting in HD a year ago. So by Monday, all local newscasts in Jacksonville will be available in high definition.
The stations have been broadcasting network programs in HD for several years, but producing local programming in HD requires a lot more equipment and can be quite expensive. None of the station managers would say how much they have spent on the equipment. But National Association of Broadcasters spokesman Dennis Wharton said the cost of a local station going HD averages about $10 million, although it can vary widely. More…