The satellite TV battle between DISH Network and Direct TV was stepped up another notch today, as DISH Network said they will have 150 HD channels by year-end 2008.
DISH Network seems to be in an all-out attack on the HD front. While this is certainly good for consumers craving more HD content, it seems DISH has started to really stretch the truth to put it mildly in their attempt to outdo Direct TV. More on that later.
First the news on DISH Network’s latest expansion. After previously promising 17 additional HD channels in Mid-July, which will be added August 1st, DISH Network today announced they would be expanding to 150 national HD channels by year-end.
DISH Network recently enjoyed a successful satellite launch, as the Echostar 11 will soon become operational and will allow DISH Network to expand its HD offerings.
The latest announcement comes on the heels of the Direct TV announcement that they will expand to 130 HD channels in mid-August. That proclamation, along with their statement that they will soon have capacity for 150 HD channels took the shine of DISH Network’s 100 channel announcement.
DISH Network initially took the lead in HD programming in late 2006 and into 2007, but dropped the ball after that. Direct TV expanded their HD content through the end of 2007, leaving DISH far behind. Charlie Ergen, DISH Network CEO admitted as much on conference calls with Wall Street analysts, praising DirecTV for their execution in the HD market. After about a year of extremely low subscriber growth, DISH Network is fighting back hard.
DirecTV has pushed both cable companies and DISH Network around in the HD marketplace. But with DISH Network’s recent announcement of their Turbo HD packages, and their expansion of HD service, it looks like they have finally decided to follow the same path as DirecTV. Rather than position their offerings as a value oriented television provider, DISH Network is moving toward the position as a premium provider.
The strategy has worked well for Direct TV. Under the leadership of CEO Chase Carey, Direct TV has reduced customer churn and improved revenue per subscriber numbers, all while the US economy has entered a soft spot. The latest foray by DISH Network shows they intend to start down the same path.
In conjunction with their Turbo HD packages, DISH Network is also extensively promoting its move to deploy HD content in the highest resolution possible. DISH claims that via a new “proprietary system upgrade” set-top HD DVR devices will now display content in higher resolution. Customers with MPEG-4 HD DVR receivers will be able to display HD content in 1080p, the highest resolution possible for 1080p compatible HDTV sets. Sounds like a lot of technical mumbo jumbo, we will have to wait to see how it looks to see if what DISH Network is promising makes any real difference.
Earlier I mentioned how DISH Network is really starting to stretch the truth (fib or lie anyone?) is being promoted in this press release. Their latest, recapping all of their HD moves, says they now have 114 national HD channels. Their previous release announced they would have 100 HD channels. Where did the 14 additional channels come from?
According to tvpredictions.com, DISH Network is now claiming their video-on-demand channels available in HD as channels. Fairly ridiculous and creeping up on the fibbing scale close to Comcast’s claim earlier this year that they are the leader in HD because they will have “1000 HD Choices.”
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