May 12, 2008

HD Carriage: Multichannel Operators’ Channel Adds

Time Warner Cable is the first MSO to roll out Hallmark Movie Channel in HD, launching it to parts of Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Hudson Valley and Staten Island this month. Plans are in place to launch the HD signal to other TW systems over the coming months. Similar renewal deals with Cox, DirecTV, EchoStar and Cablevision give the distributors the opportunity to launch the HD feed, but so far TW is the 1st to opt to do so. — FiOS TV has launched HD VOD services in OR. Meanwhile, Verizon is spending $86mln to extend availability of the service to an additional 10 RI communities, and to upgrade in 8 others its HSI service offering max download speeds of 7Mbps. — Comcast plans to launch 11 high-def networks in its Oregon and Southwest Washington markets: Disney Channel HD, ABC Family Channel HD, Discovery Channel HD, TLC HD, Science Channel HD, Food Network HD, Animal Planet HD, SciFi HD, CNN HD, AMC HD and TBS HD. — DISH added local HD channels in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News, VA.— Fox News has launched a HD simulcast that Time Warner Cable will make available in certain markets. — FiOS TV has launched HD VOD services in OR.