Dish unveils HDTV menu
Network to offer 1,700 hours of programs a week
Joyzelle Davis, Rocky Mountain News
Published January 6, 2006 at midnight
EchoStar Communications's Dish Network satellite-television service unveiled a slate of new high-definition channels, giving it the most high-definition channels in the pay-television market with more than 1,700 hours a week of programming.
Dish added five VOOM channels, bringing the total to 15, as well as ESPN2 HD and Universal HD. Douglas County-based Dish is also unrolling local high-definition channels in 50 markets this year, starting with Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York next month, the company announced Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The introduction of local high-definition channels eliminates a longtime knock against satellite-television providers. Cable companies offer local broadcast stations in high definition, while subscribers of satellite services have had to use an antenna for the feed. Larger rival DirecTV also is launching locally in high definition with plans to unroll in 150 markets by 2007.
Dish Network, which passed the 12 million customer mark last month, is positioning itself to take advantage of the booming market for HDTV sets, which offer crisper pictures and clearer sound. Spurred by plummeting prices for the once-pricey technology that debuted in 1998, about 17 percent of television-owning households will have at least one HDTV set by the end of this year, up from 0.6 percent in 2000, according to Kagan Research. More than 80 percent of U.S. households will have HDTVs by the end of 2010, the research firm said.
The package of 15 VOOM channels will be available to customers Feb. 1 as part of the new DishHD package, which starts at $54.99 a month. Subscribers also will have to upgrade to a new receiver to get the new channels. The ViP211 HD receiver runs $49.99, and the multiroom ViP622 digital video recorder is $299 for new lease customers.
EchoStar
DISH: Nasdaq
$28.50
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davisj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2514
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