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.
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