THUNDER TO BE BROADCAST IN HIGH-DEFINITION

2007-04-03T18:59:25

WDRB FOX 41 will be first local station to offer "Thunder Over Louisville" in FULL HIGH-DEFINITION

2007 doesn’t just mark the first year that “Thunder Over Louisville” -- the opening ceremonies of the Kentucky Derby Festival -- will be televised live on WDRB Fox 41. It will also be the first time in the event’s history that it will be televised from beginning to end in full High-Definition.

On Saturday, April 21, Fox 41 viewers will witness the culmination of a full year’s worth of planning, as a total of 21 HD cameras – in concert with 5.1 Surround Sound (also a first) -- will bring them the sights and sounds of the all-day air show and fireworks extravaganza more realistically than ever before.

“In the past, many people have said you really haven’t experienced Thunder if you haven’t been there in person,” said WDRB General Manager Bill Lamb. “And to a certain extent, that’s been true. But with the enhancements offered by full HDTV and Surround Sound, viewers at home this year will have an unprecedented opportunity to truly feel as if they’re right in the middle of the scene on the Riverfront.

“I’ve always been in awe of Thunder Over Louisville, and I’m proud that Fox 41 has the distinction of establishing these new, ambitious standards for the telecast.”

Fox 41’s HD cameras will offer more unique views of Thunder than ever before, including a record five cameras exclusively devoted to locations on the Indiana side of the river.

Plus, the station will offer extreme close-ups of all the air show acts with three special long lenses that will be used for the very first time. Two will be positioned on the Indiana shore in Ashland Park and on the roof of The Harbours Condominiums, while the third will be at the Kentucky Center.

Continuing the station’s ongoing commitment to the hearing-impaired community, Fox 41’s entire telecast – which begins at 2:00 PM and ends with a wrap-up show following the fireworks show at 10:00 PM – will feature real-time closed captioning, thanks to a partnership with Norton Hospital.  And as an added bonus, WDRB will repeat the 30-minute fireworks telecast – again in HD – at 11:00 PM that evening.

“This telecast will represent a major step forward for Thunder, as well as for Fox 41,” said Lamb. “Our Production, News and Engineering staffs have been working overtime ever since the last Thunder to get all the details exactly right. And nearly every one of our more than 130 employees will be significantly involved in one way or another.

“More people than ever before now have High-Definition TVs in their homes, and that number is growing every day. So as the station’s General Manager, I’m naturally excited about being the first to do such a massive project entirely in HD. But as a viewer, I find it just as exciting that I’ll finally be able to see this spectacle broadcast in the detail it deserves.

“Even though I’ll be there in person, I’ll be setting my DVR to record the entire day so I can watch it again and again,” said Lamb. “And if you’re also planning to go, I’d like to suggest you might want to do the same.”