Posted on 07/17/2008 2:33:14 AM PDT by Las Vegas Dave
Dish Network today announced that it will add 17 national HDTV channels on August 1, saying the additions will give it 100 national HD channels overall.
The satcaster promised in January that it would offer 100 national HD channels by year's end. DIRECTV, Dish's top satellite rival, now offers around 95 national HD channels, but has promised to deliver up to 150 national HD channels by year's end.
“In January, we promised our customers that DISH Network would boost our national HD channel lineup to 100 by year’s end. Today, we are proud to say that in less than one year, not only did we deliver on our commitment, but we exceeded it,” said Eric Sahl, senior vice president of programming for DISH Network. “We continue our pledge to DISH Network subscribers to add more national channels and local HD markets, as well as offer the best sports and movies in HD.”
The new HD channels that will be added on August 1 are:
ActionMax HD (DISH Network Ch. 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) Starz West HD (Ch. 351)
Dish also said it's introducing a new programming package called TurboHD, which is four different HD-only packages starting with a $24.99 a month offer.
Washington, D.C. (July 16, 2008) -- Dish Network this morning successfully launched a new satellite designed to expand its High-Definition capacity.
The rocket carrying the EchoStar 11 satellite lifted off at 10:21 p.m. Pacific time (1:21 p.m. ET on July 16) from the Sea Launch rocket platform in the Pacific Ocean.
Sea Launch says at its web site that the spacecraft has separated from the booster rocket and the first signal was acquired an hour later.
"After the second burn, and nine-minute coast, the spacecraft separated from the upper stage over the Indian Ocean, off the East coast of Africa. A ground station at Gnangara (Perth), Australia, acquired the first signals from the spacecraft in orbit, a few minutes later," Sea Launch stated.
The launch's success is considered crucial to the satcaster's long-term hopes of competing with DIRECTV, telcos and the cable TV operators. The company's first satellite launch this year failed when the rocket did not reach its proper orbit. (The company has a third launch planned later this year.)
Dish recently announced that it's adding 17 national HD channels on August 1, which it says will bring its total to 100 HD channels, roughly the same as rival DIRECTV.
However, the company needs more capacity to keep pace with DIRECTV, which says it will have the capacity for up to 150 HD channels by year's end.
The Wall Street Journal yesterday quoted Wall Street analyst Craig Moffett as saying the satcaster has a "lot riding on a successful launch." Moffett notes the first launch failure and recent unflattering quarterly reports that show Dish's subscriber growth waning.
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Las Vegas Dave
I heard the 2nd satellite didn’t work right too.
I’ll wait, I’m in Alaska, have to get a second dish, another receiver, a higher bill and of course Dish doesn’t really have all its birds working yet so this news does nothing for me, besides my gas budget cancelled any Dish upgrades anyway.
Just make sure you read the fine print. I wouldnt use dishnetwork again if I had any choice.
I’ve toyed with dumping cable and going to a dish. Primarily because I don’t like Time-Warner.
Having lots of trees around my house the satellite would have to be almost directly overhead or cut some trees (booo).
Is this one going to be parked in the SW (relative to the East Coast?)
Also, I’ve heard Dish HD doesn’t have the definition of cable. True or False?
So unless you're buying the premium movie channels, not much.
But it includes “Planet Green” so it has to be worth it!
Why don’t they just give us back the Zoom channels they remove a few months ago? The Treasure channel was pretty good. It had an excellent show about historic homes in America.
I meant Voom not Zoom.
My hubby is still complaining about losing those. He got such a kick out of showing the kids all the Gerry Anderson programs in HD. They were all originally filmed in 32 mil and looked fantastic....
True but per Consumers Reports Dish & DTV actually have more resolution than cable. You must have heard this from the cable guy?
I had Dish HD and it had better definition than the HD cable I have now. I’ve heard FIOS is better definition than any satellite or other cable.
If something goes wrong with DiSH, like some of my channels "drop off" (rare), their customer service people always know what to do to get me back on track. The only other issue is when the receiver breaks down, and they usually have one shipped to arrive faster than a cable repairman.
My main gripe is the price. I miss my old C-band and amazingly cheap a la carte programming. I just wish TCM and the Fox Movie Channel would go HD. I would have plenty to watch then.
They also had a couple of channels that had the best skiing documentary programs I have ever seen as well as other action sports I enjoy such as mountain biking and snowmobiling.
Their service in the DC area was horrific. It took 4 visits to install (finally their Eastern European contractors got in and got the job their cowardly employees wouldn’t do done.) Then the dish got bumped in a storm, and the never showed up for three appointments to come and fix it. House went to comcast but I dropped that.
Now, HD tvtorrents and online streaming gets the job done much better - and for free.
After the Voom channels disappeared - right in the middle of a movie I was watching! - I started thinking about crossing over to DirectTV, if for no other reason than Dish’s complete lack of candor and courtesy in the way they dropped Voom. I’m curious as to why you chose cable over DirectTV - is there something negative about the other satellite service that led you back to cable? I’ve kept Dish for the last couple of months hoping they’d see reason and restore the Voom channels, but now it appears that Dish won’t budge, so I’m scouting for the best DirectTV deal. The cherry on top would be if Direct picked up Voom and captured all the disgruntled Dish customers!
I did try DTV once, but was not impressed; their pricing and the same transmission problems during the rain also kept me from re-signing. I intensely dislike Comcast, but they are the cable monopoly in my area, so they became the lesser of all evils. Their pricing is better, but the HD quality lags behind DISH big time. It's a shame in this day and age we don't have more options.
At least you have Comcast (and if I were joking, I’d be smiling); the only alternative to satellite in my area is Brighthouse...and they take pricing, service, and quality (especially nasty HD) to hitherto unplumbed lows. :-(
I was with Dish for at least 10 years, mostly because Comcast is the cable co in my area. Dropped Dish for DirecTV a few months ago when I got an HDTV. Very satisfied so far.
UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE
http://www.tvpredictions.com/dish114073108.htm
Dish Network: We Now Have 114 HD Channels (August 1st-LVD)
Washington, D.C. (July 31, 2008) — Dish Network said today that it will have up to 114 High-Definition channels starting tomorrow, more than any other TV provider.
The satcaster is scheduled to add 17 national HD channels on Friday. However, until now, Dish was only counting around 80 HD channels, which would seem to put its total at 100 at best.
But in a press release issued today, Dish Network said:
“As previously announced, (we) will also launch 17 new national HD channels tomorrow, surpassing its goal of reaching 100 national HD channels five months ahead of schedule. Dish Network now offers up to 114 national HD channels and plans to expand that lineup to 150 channels by the end of 2008.”
DIRECTV says it now has 95 national HD channels, but will increase that number to 130 on August 14.
Asked how Dish is able to reach the 114 mark, Dish spokeswoman Kathie Gonzalez said the total includes 14 Video on Demand channels, six ‘HD PPV’ channels and 25 regional sports channels.
Here is a list of the 114 channels that Dish Network says it will offer by tomorrow:
A&E HD
ABC Family
Cartoon Network
CNBC
CNN HD
Discovery Channel HD
Disney (E)
ESPN HD
ESPN2 HD
ESPNews
Food Network HD
HD Theater
HDNet
HGTV HD
History Channel HD, The
Lifetime
MHD
SCI FI Channel HD
TBS in HD
TLC HD
TNT HD
Travel Channel
USA HD
Weather Channel
Animal Planet HD
Big Ten Network HD 2
Bravo
CBS College Sports
Lifetime Movie Network
NFL Network HD
Toon Disney
WGN America
Biography
Encore (E)
Golf Channel/Versus HD
Hallmark Movie Channel
National Geographic Channel HD
Planet Green
Science Channel HD, The
Tennis Channel
5StarMAX HD
Cinemax HD (E)
Cinemax HD (W)
ActionMAX
HBO HD (E)
HBO HD (W)
HBO2 HD
HBO Signature HD
HBO Comedy
HBO Family
HBO Zone
HBO Latino
Showtime HD
Starz HD (E)
Starz HD (W)
Starz Comedy HD
Starz Edge HD
Starz Kids and Family HD
HDNet Movies
MGM
NBA TV
NHL Network HD
Smithsonian
Universal HD
World Fishing Network
DISH Network HD PPV – 6 Channels
Regional Sports Networks – 25 Channels
VOD – 14 Channels
Locals – 4 Channels (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC)
TOTAL 114
The satcaster also said today it will be the first TV provider to offer high-def movies in 1080p resolution, the same resolution offered on Blu-ray high-def discs.
DIRECTV earlier this week said it would air some movies in 1080p, but did not give a launch date other than to say “later this year.”
Dish said its 1080p resolution will be offered when it unveils a new subscription package next month. The company 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-def delivery used by pay TV providers, such as the ability to output 1080p programming.
By early August, Dish said in a press release, all Dish customers with MPEG-4 HD DVRs will have set-tops that can display 1080p.
Dish said that starting August 1, Will Smith’s movie, I Am Legend, will be available in 1080p resolution on Dish’s VOD service.
DISH Chief Marketing Officer Jessica Insalaco told Reuters that the satcaster plans to start promoting more of its high-end products, such as high-def , even with the economy sagging.
“Television is still a huge part of people’s lives, and with rising gas prices the whole home video experience is more important than ever,” she told the wire service.
A recent study found that DIRECTV and Comcast customers spend more money per month on their TV service than Dish customers.
Seems to me to be a major screw up.
Nice!!!!
Same here on both counts. What I hate most about Comcast is their annoying, and often condescending commercials that they seem to show every 15 minutes. Their commercials all seem to target total idiots(shows what they must think of their customer base lol).
Thanks for the ping, Dave! I’m awaiting HD availability of my local channels (Montgomery) before possibly moving from cable. If we lived in the next county north, we could get Birmingham locals - all in HD. Oh well…
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