High definition television (HDTV) became a contentious issue in American politics after the European Community rejected a bid in 1986 by the Japanese national broadcasting company, Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), to have its HDTV production method adopted as an international standard. For some in the US, the Japanese HDTV initiative raised concerns about the need to respond more effectively to the increased competition from Japan and Western Europe. For others, HDTV was important because it might affect a wide range of industries -- broadcasting, film, video, consumer electronics, computers, and telecommunications -- and therefore needed to be considered more carefully before buying into the Japanese approach. As a result, the United States began a process to choose a standard for advanced TV that took until April 1997 to reach its conclusion. The U.S. choice of a digital television standard forced both Japan and Europe to reexamine their earlier decisions on HDTV.
Jeffrey Hart is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Indiana University, Bloomington, where he taught international politics and international political economy from 1981 to 2013. His books include The New International Economic Order (1983), Interdependence in the Post Multilateral Era (1985), Rival Capitalists (1992), Globalization and Governance (1999), Managing New Industry Creation (2001), Technology, Television, and Competition (2004), The Politics of International Economic Relations 7th edition (2010), Essays on the History and Politics of the Internet (2023), and The Political Economy of Hollywood (2025). He currently lives in Berkeley, California.View all by Jeffrey A. Hart
