Cablevision could air 500 HD channels by year-end

Reuters

Cablevision
Systems Corp. said on Thursday it will have the capability to carry more than
500 channels of high definition television programming by year-end as
competition mounts from satellite TV and telephone operators.

The New
York-based cable operator also said it will add 15 new HD channels from Voom HD
Networks starting June 26, amounting to a total of 40 HD programming services
for Cablevision digital cable TV customers.

U.S.
cable operators have been waging a
marketing offensive against satellite TV operators in a bid to convince the
public they will have the capability to deliver the most high definition
channels.

Large
flat-screen HD TVs have been one of the hottest selling consumer electronics
segments in the

United
States for several years, prompting
satellite and cable companies to vie for subscribers by touting the quality of
HD video for their TVs.

“Over
the next few years, HD will move from a nice-to-have to must-have,” said Craig
Moffett, analyst at Bernstein Research.

The
competition is even more intense in Cablevision’s regions where phone companies
Verizon Communications and AT&T Inc. are rolling out advanced digital TV
services that are ready to carry HD services.

“Satellite
and phone company TV providers continue to talk about their plans for HD, but
Cablevision is actually doing something about it,” said John Trierweiler,
Cablevision’s senior vice president of product management.

DirecTV
Group Inc., the leading

U.S.
satellite TV provider, has promised to offer as many as 150 HD channels by the
end of the year. It is planning to launch a new satellite over the summer to
increase its HD broadcast capacity.

Moffett
said modern cable plants such as Cablevision’s could offer virtually unlimited
HD channels thanks to technology such as switched broadcast video. But sheer
capacity does not mean there is enough television programming to fill available
channels, whether on cable, satellite or via phone operators.

“There’s
a big difference between HD channel slots and HD channels,” said Moffett.

Comcast
Corp., the No. 1 U.S. cable operator, said it will have around 400 HD ‘choices’
by the end of the year and as many as 800 by the end of 2008. Comcast
spokespeople have explained HD ‘choices’ will include video- on-demand
channels, as well as HD linear broadcast channels.

Voom,
which is owned by Cablevision unit Rainbow Media, will provide Cablevision with
specialist HD channels such as HDNews, Monsters HD, Gameplay HD and Kung Fu HD.

“There
will probably be something like 30 mainstream TV channels on any of the
operators by the end of the year,” Moffett said.

Cablevision
shares were down 6 cents at $35.92 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock
Exchange.