Sears inviting shoppers to watch football in HDTV

Giving a rare marketing boost to high definition television (HDTV), CBS, set manufacturer Samsung, and retailer Sears announced a partnership Wednesday to present a full season of college football games in HDTV for the first time next fall. As part of the deal, Sears will invite football fans into its stores to watch a leading game each week on a Samsung HDTV set. A regular television set will be displayed nearby for comparison. John Garrison, executive v.p. of sales and marketing for Samsung in the U.S., said in a statement: “The ‘HDTV Game Day’ event makes Sears stores the destination every Saturday for many sports fans’ first exposure to Digital TV. And we’re betting that once they experience the Samsung HDTV, they’ll make the decision to take the experience home.”