DISH Network has announced the second quarter results on Monday, Aug. 4. DISH Network has increased the revenue from $2.76 billion (corresponding period in 2007) to $2.91 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. DISH Network has a net income of $336 million for this quarter from $224 million during the corresponding period in 2007. The satcaster lost about 25,000 net subscribers during this quarter and now has approximately 13.79 million subscribers.
Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable have announced that they are preparing for 2008 Summer Olympic Games with two special high-definition channels in some of their broadcast market areas. This is according to TV Predictions.com news. Apart from NBC’s high-def Olympic broadcasts on CNBC, Universal HD, USA Network and NBC these two channels will bring exclusive high-definition coverage of basketball and soccer. Cox and Time Warner will begin the broadcast on August 6 through August 24 with the new two HD channels covering basketball and soccer. Cox announced that these channels will be available in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area and Time Warner covering New York market.
DISH Network has announced that they are the first in the industry to offer high definition programming in 1080p. The HD war between DISH Network and DirecTV is heating up as DISH Network claims that they are the first to reach the 100 HD mark by launching 17 HD channels on August 1. In response, DirecTV announced that they are launching more than 30 HD channels on August 14 and will reach 150 HD channels before the year end, and also to add 44 new HD local channel markets in August. DISH Network claims that they offer 114 national HD channels and plans to expand that line-up to 150 channels by the end of 2008.
DISH Network is scheduled to launch 17 new HD channels today and with the successful launch of new satellite Echo XI, the satcaster is planning to launch more HD channels. DISH Network has also announced that a new all-HD suite of programming package “TurboHD” would also be launched. Following are the 17 new HD channels launched today :
ActionMax HD - DISH Network Channel - 313
CBS College Sports HD - Ch. 152
Lifetime HD - Ch. 108
Lifetime Movie Network HD - Ch. 109
Planet Green HD - Ch. 194
Encore HD - Ch. 340
HBO 2 HD - Ch. 301
HBO Comedy HD - Ch. 307
HBO Family HD - Ch. 305
HBO Latino HD - Ch. 309
HBO Signature HD - Ch. 302
HBO West HD - Ch. 303
HBO Zone HD - Ch. 308
Starz Comedy HD - Ch. 354
Starz Edge HD - Ch. 352
Starz Kids & Family HD - Ch.356 and
Starz West HD - Ch. 351
Dish said in a press release its 1080p resolution will be offered when it unveils a new subscription package in August. DISH Network said that starting August 1, a new system upgrade will be rolled out to all MPEG-4 HD DVR receivers. The upgrade will activate a feature in the set-top that improves the current standard of high-definition delivery used by pay TV providers, such as the ability to output 1080p programming. By early August, all DISH Network customers with MPEG-4 HD DVRs will have set-tops that can display 1080p.
DISH Network to celebrate this launch has announced that Warner Bros. Pictures’ blockbuster “I Am Legend” starring Will Smith will be available in 1080p resolution from August 1. The movie is same as Blu-ray Disc quality on DISH Network’s VOD service, DISH On Demand, at a discounted price.
Verizon Communications has announced on Monday, July 28 that thay are offering 100 High-Definition channels in the New York area. Verizon said in a press release on Monday that the service will offer 100 HD channels, giving customers more HD than Cablevision or Time Warner Cable. These new HD channels offered are to existing FiOS TV markets in the New York metropolitan area, including parts of Long Island, the suburbs just north of the city, and northern New Jersey.
List of Verizon’s HD Channels Available in New York City :
ABC Family HD
A&E HD
ABC HD
Action Max
Action Max West
Animal Planet HD
At Max
Big Ten Network HD
Bio. The Biography Channel HD
Bravo HD
CBS HD
Cinemax HDTV
Cinemax West HD
CNBC HD
CNN HD
CW HD
Discovery Channel HD
Disney Channel HD
ESPN HDTV
ESPN2 HDTV
ESPNews HD
Five Star Max
Food HD
Fox Business Network HD
FOX HD
Fox News Channel HD
FX HD
Hallmark Movie Channel HD
HBO 2 HD
HBO 2 HD (West)
HBO Comedy
HBO Comedy West
HBO Family
HBO Family West
HBO HDTV
HBO Latino
HBO Latino West
HBO Signature
HBO Signature (West)
HBO West HD
HBO Zone
HBO Zone (West)
HD Net
HD Net Movies
HD Theater
HGTV HD
Lifetime HD East
Lifetime Movie Network HD
Mav TV
MGM Channel HD
MHD
More Max
More Max West
MY NETWORK HD
National Geographic Channel HD
NBC HD
NFL Network HDTV
Outdoor Channel 2 HD
Outer Max
PBS HD
Planet Green
QVC HD
SCI FI HD
Sho2 HD
Sho2 HD West
Showcase HD East
Showcase HD West
Showtime Extreme East
Showtime Extreme West
Showtime HD West
Showtime HDTV
Smithsonian HD
Speed HD
SportsNet NY HD
Starz Comedy HD
Starz Edge HD
Starz HDTV
Starz Kids & Family HD
Superstation WGN HD
TBS HD
The History Channel HD
The Learning Channel HD
The Movie Channel HDTV
The Science Channel HD
The Travel Channel HD
The Weather Channel HD
Thriller Max
Thriller Max West
TMC HD - West
TMC Xtra East
TMC Xtra West
TNT HDTV
Toon Disney HD
Universal HDTV
USA HD
Versus / Golf HD
Wealth TV HD
Wmax
World Fishing Network HD and
YES HD
Cablevision Systems Corporation has announced on Monday, July 28 the addition of 15 new high-definition channels to its iO TV HD line-up. Cablevision now offers 60 high-definition channels for its iO TV subscribers for no extra programming fees or equipment. Cablevision’s new addition of 15 new high-definition channels starts on Monday, July 28 and will be completed on August 1, 2008.
The new HD channels comes to Cablevision customers before the DISH Networks scheduled launch of 17 new HD channels, which starts from August 1.
Cablevision started adding following HD channels from Monday :
AMC HD
Animal Planet HD
Discovery Channel HD
Fox News HD
FX HD
Hallmark Movie Channel HD
IFC HD
Nickelodeon HD
Science Channel HD
Speed Channel HD
Spike HD
The Weather Channel HD
TLC HD
Travel Channel HD and
WE HD
The Cable operator uses fiber optic network and advanced technology to deliver HD programming has announced that the high-definition expansion will continue and to ultimately deliver all of the channels it carries in HD.
The Summer X Games XIV to be held in Los Angeles, California from Thursday, July 31 to August 3 will be broadcasted on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. ESPN Networks is planning to bring 20 hours of live coverage of the X Games in high-definition. ESPN360.com, EXPN.com, ESPN Classic, ESPN International, SportsCenter and ESPN2’s X Center will also bring additional coverage of the event.
The new events included in X Games XIV are :
BMX Street
Moto X Best Whip
Moto X Speed & Style
BMX and Skateboard SuperPark
Women’s Moto X Racing and
Adaptive Moto X Racing
X Center, BMX Street Final
Thursday, July 31, 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM on ESPN
Skateboard Big Air Final, Moto X Best Trick Final
Thursday, July 31, 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM on ESPN
X Center, Moto X Best Whip
Thursday, July 31, 12:00 - 1:00 AM on ESPN2
X Center, Skateboard Street Final
Friday, August 1, 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM on ESPN
BMX Big Air Final, Moto X Step Up Final
Friday, August 1, 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM on ESPN
Moto X Speed & Style, BMX SuperPark Final,
Men’s Moto X Racing Final, Women’s Moto X Racing
Saturday, August 2, 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM on ABC
SuperMoto Final, BMX Vert Final, Skate Vert Final
Saturday, August 2, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM on ESPN2
Skate Vert Final, Moto X Freestyle Final
Saturday, August 2, 9:00 PM -11:00 PM on ESPN
X Center
Saturday, August 2, 1:00 AM - 2:00 AM on ESPN2
Rally Car Racing Final, Skateboard SuperPark Final
Sunday, August 3, 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM on ABC
X Center
Sunday, August 3, 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM on ESPN2
X Center
Sunday, August 3, 1:00 AM - 2:00 AMon ESPN2
All Time listed are Eastern Time (ET)
DirecTV is proving its dominance in the high-definition broadcast as they announced that the satcaster will launch 30 new HD channels in August. Further more DirecTV will also add 44 new HD local channel markets in August. With this expansion the satcaster will provide local HD broadcast channels in 121 cities, representing more than 88 percent of U.S. TV households.
DirecTV will launch local high-definition channels to the subscribers with TOTAL CHOICE programming package, which offers local channels and the local HD channels, will be delivered in primary broadcast networks where ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC local channels are offered. Apart from this HD expansion DirecTV also has plans to launch new satellite DIRECTV 12 in 2009 and with the help of the satellite the satecaster will deliver 200 national HD and 1,500 local HD channels.
Following are the new markets areas :
Augusta, Georgia
Bangor, Maine
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas
Boise, Idaho
Burlington, Vt.-Plattsburgh, New York
Butte-Bozeman, Montana
Champaign-Springfield-Decatur, Illinois
Charleston, South Carolina
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Colorado Springs-Pueblo, Colorado
Columbia-Jefferson City, Missouri
Davenport, Iowa-Rock Island, Illinois
Dayton, Ohio
Des Moines-Ames, Iowa
Dothan, Alabama
El Paso, Texas
Evansville, Indiana
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Greenville-New Bern-Washington
Harrisonburg, Virginia
La Crosse-Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Lincoln-Hastings, Nebraska
Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Macon, Georgia
Mich.– Harlingen-Brownsville, Texas
Mobile AL-Pensacola, Florida
Moline, Illinois
Myrtle Beach-Florence, South Carolina
Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia
Palm Springs, California
Peoria-Bloomington, Illinois
Richmond-Petersburg, Virginia
Rochester, New York
Rockford, Illinois
Savannah, Georgia
Sioux Falls, S. Dakota
South Bend-Elkhart, Indiana
Springfield-Holyoke, Massachusetts
Syracuse, New York
Tallahassee, Florida
Toledo, Ohio
Traverse City-Cadillac, North Carolina and
Youngstown, Ohio
“With the rollout of 44 new HD local markets, DIRECTV continues to strengthen its position as the leading provider of quality HD programming among cable and satellite competitors nationwide,” said Derek Chang, executive vice president, Content Strategy and Development, DIRECTV, Inc. “Our DIRECTV 11 satellite has recently begun operations and significantly expands our capacity for more national and local HD channels. And as we have with the SuperFan service for MLB EXTRA INNINGS and NFL SUNDAY TICKET and our multi-screen coverage of US Open golf, we will continue to use HD to enhance our unique interactive services to provide our customers with more of what they want and expect from us - the best television experience available.”
The high-definition war is heating up in satellite industry as DirecTV has announced today that the satcaster will launch more than 30 high-definition channels starting from August 14. Now DirecTV is offering 95 high-definition channels. With these new HD channels DirecTV will lead with 125 HD channels to its programming line-up. DISH Network already has announced that they will launch 17 HD channels on August 1 to become first satellite provider to deliver 100 HD channels. DirecTV with the help of new satellite “DIRECTV 11” will deliver 30 HD channels. Following are the HD channels to be launched :
ABC Family HD
Planet Green HD
Showtime Extreme HD
Showtime Showcase HD and
DIRECTV HD pay per view channels
Apart from these channels, DirecTV will also add 23 high-definition Regional Sports Networks (RSNs). The satcaster will be first in the industry to broadcast all its high-definition programming in the MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding standard.
Derek Chang, executive vice president, Content Strategy and Development, DIRECTV said “Despite all the sound and fury of confusing HD claims from our competitors, our customers understand that DIRECTV is the destination for the most compelling and complete lineup of HD content, Our message is clear – DIRECTV is the content leader, and our delivery of the best quality HD via the most advanced technology is one way we continue to dominate this category and offer our more than 17 million customers nationwide an unparalleled entertainment experience.”
DirecTV is also planning to launch a new satellite “DIRECTV 12″ in 2009 and will deliver 200 national HD channels and 1,500 local HD channels.
Verizon’s 22 new channels includes 15 high-definition channels
Verizon Communications headquartered in New York, has launched 22 new channels which includes 15 new high-definition channels in Oregon on Monday, July 21, 2008. Verizon now offers 42 HD channels, more than 440 HD choices available at any time and 440 video-on-demand titles offered each month in Oregon. Verizon has added 22 new channels in Fort Wayne on July 1, 2008. Verizon is launching new HD sports channels for the sports subscribers in Oregon. Verizon’s sports fans will get Big Ten Network and Setanta Sports in their programming line-up. Apart from launching new HD channels like Bravo, CNBC, CNN and USA, Verizon’s FiOS TV having plans to add more three new Starz HD and two new Showtime HD channels. Verizon is clear with its HD expansion plans and announced that FiOS TV will continue expanding its HD line-up and will focus mainly on high-definition programming.
Verizon is adding the following new high-definition channels to the FiOS TV lineup in Oregon:
Animal Planet HD
Big Ten Network HD
Bravo HD
CNBC HD+
CNN HD
History Channel HD
Outdoor Channel 2 HD
SCI FI HD
Science Channel HD
Smithsonian Channel HD
TBS HD
TLC (The Learning Channel) HD
USA HD
Versus/Golf HD and
Weather Channel HD
Terry Denson, vice president - FiOS TV content and programming said “High-definition and sports content are among the most popular TV programming, and we’re bringing the best of both to FiOS TV, The addition of new HD and sports channels, along with the new multicultural content and more, is part of our commitment to lead the industry in the scope and quality of our programming.”
Verizon is adding the following new standard-definition channels to the FiOS TV lineup in Oregon:
Big Ten Network
Current TV
Reelz
RFD TV
Setanta Sports
Veria TV and
WAPA TV
CBC begins its 2008 Beijing Olympic coverage on Wednesday, August 6 at 4:45 a.m. ET with live coverage of a preliminary women’s soccer match featuring Argentina playing Canada. CBC will present more than 280 hours of high-definition coverage of Beijing Olympics from Aug 8 to August 24. Apart from this HD coverage, the network is planning for standard definition coverage of more than 400 hours on its other network channels such as CBC Newsworld and CBC Bold. About 1500 hours of Olympic coverage will be available on CBCsports.ca presenting daily coverage throughout the Olympic Games.
