DIRECTV to Offer 100 National HD Channels in 2007

[Shane]

Not sure about Cinemax, but expect Starz HD soon. Starz HD is owned by Liberty Media, which just became the majority shareholder of DirecTV recently.

Also expect National Geographic HD, as it is owned by the same parent company as DirecTV: News Corporation.

- Shane

[rgkroger1]

I am in the process of looking at switching HD Services, so I called DirecTV and spoke to the office of the president.

Basically what this promise is based upon is that they successfully launch 2 new HDTV satellites by the 3rd quarter of 2007. Since I would be a new customer, I asked for a clause in the 2 year contract for HD service that they make you sign that would allow me to get out of the commitment should they fail to deliver.

I was told that they would not allow this because they have no guarantees that the satellites will be launched this year. So much for the year of HD by DirecTV.

[zuuser1]

You cannot trust Directv. Their horrible customer service alone was enough to make me switch to Dish. They promise all this stuff, at least half is not true. Who know when they will launch the satellites, and when the do it will still be a while until they offer more HD, and by that time (probably 2008 or 2009) it won't be as good as they say, and by that time Dish will have more HD than they do now which is much more than Directv has. The rep from Directv convinced me to switch because she told me how Dish aquired ZOOM. Somehow that was supposed to be a bad thing. Not a very good talking point, telling me that the other company has more HD which is why I should stick with the company with less.

[rlbray]

Hope you enjoy your Dish service. I also have problems with D*. Specifically, their HD lite.

However, they have a pretty good record for doing what they announce. One reason is that they don't announce much until they are "ready to go". As to customer service, some csr's aren't great;; but they are better than most as evidenced by their consistently high marks on the J.D. Powers survey.

[NickNixon]

Don't mean to be a spoilsport, but since there will not be 100 national HD
channels in existence by the end of 2007 (or even 2008), Directv (D*) is once
again blowing smoke. IMO, the primary reason for kidding their subscribers
is to keep them from jumping ship.

What Tom Malone is really talking about is that by the end of '07, D* will have
the necessary bandwidth to launch 100 HD channels (if and when they exist).

IMO, going from nine to 100 HD channels nationally will take at least 3-5
years. By then D* may well be in the best position to accomodate the high
bandwidth demands of substantially more HD channels, contrasted with
that of Dish Network or most cablecos.

Finally, I don't think we will see 100 national HD channels before 2010, but it's
unlikely that any one provider will carry them all, The one possible exception is
Fios-based providers.

[joed32]

Shane, I did see in their statement, ALL premium movie channels.

[Shane]

I thought that as well, but after re-reading their current and past releases, the will have capacity for 150 nationwide, and have committed to 100 nationwide by the end of the year.

Yes, that means there will be substantial HD channel launches this year. Including all the Voom channels, movie channels, etc ... there are only about 40 nationwide HD networks right now. I suppose they could launch their PPV service as ALL HD, which would add another 60 or so channels ... most of which have the same programming ... still, that would be 100 channels.

We'll see. As mentioned above, DirecTV does not usually make announcements they can't carry out.

- S

[joed32]

I think they will count PPV and RSN and Voom if they decide to carry it but even 40 other real channels sounds great.

[fpnovak]

I emailed DIrecTV customer service. I asked about : (1) name some of the new channels; (2) If I would need a technology upgrade (I bought the $999 HD-TIVO, when it first became available; I receive all their current HD-channels + NFL);
(3) When we could expect the new service?
I was unimpressed with their response!
All they "could say" was that it would be 2 new satellites (#10 & #11). They couldn't/wouldn't tell me if the sats. we already in orbit? -or- If there was a launch day scheduled?
NOT VERY ENCOURAGING!!!
-fpnovak
Any comments--Shane?

[Shane]

1) DirecTV will never name new channels in advance. It affects contract negotiations. They typically only announce new channels once they are already live. However, I did read a RUMOR that DirecTV has announced they will be picking up the new CNN HD when it launches later this year. AGAIN, THAT IS UNOFFICIAL.

2) There are actually 3 new satellites. One is already up and serving local HD channels via spot-beam. And yes, it is new technology. And no, your DirecTV-TiVo will not receive these new satellites' signals. The other two satellites go up this spring last I heard, and will be ready to serve sometime in Q2.

3) The "new service", as I said, is already available for HD locals, and from what I hear, all new national HD networks will be on this new service as well. The old technology just doesn't have the capacity for HD ... which is why DirecTV is falling behind. They simply don't have any more capacity currently in orbit.

- S