High-def households itching to see more HD may get their wish this year. Recent reports have touted a slew of industry plans to boost HD offerings. That doesn’t necessarily mean your specific cable or satellite provider will carry these offerings, however, just that they’ll be available.
CNN says it will launch an HD feed in September. Trade papers say other HD channels are planned by Turner as well as NBC Universal cable.
DirecTV announced at last month’s Consumer Electronics Show that by the end of the year it hopes to boost its national HD channels, now about a dozen, to 100. The provider is launching two new satellites to carry the additions it says will include high-def feeds of Turner’s TBS, Cartoon and CNN; the NBCU channels USA and Sci Fi; and FX. Competing satellite service DISH Network just added A&E in HD, boosting its high-def lineup to more than 30, including the VOOM channels. Cable companies, now carrying about a dozen cable channels in HD in addition to local broadcast network affiliates, are struggling to keep up, limited by available bandwidth.
Among individual programs, “NBC Nightly News” is said to be going HD in March. Local New York newscasts on WNBC/4 are already in high-def, as are WABC/7’s. NBC-owned Telemundo’s new novela “Zorro: La Espada y La Rosa” was produced in high-def, and its premiere ran on allied Universal HD. Even the Ultimate Fighting Championship has gone HD to boost its pay-per-view sales.
But some of the scenic shows viewers most want to see in HD have no plans to go there. CBS says neither “Survivor” or “The Amazing Race” is scheduled to be produced in high definition.