DIRECTV to Add 30 HD Channels

DIRECTV, not to be outdone by DISH Network’s recent announcement that they would be adding 17 HD channels on August 1^st, fired back with their own HD expansion announcement today.

While more HD is always a good thing, this latest round of HD programming probably won’t really add much to your current channel lineup.

The announcement, made in a press release today, touts the addition on August 14^th of “more than 30 HD channels, bringing the total HD lineup to 130.” If that number is precise, DIRECTV will have to add 35 HD channels, as they currently carry 95. So what exactly will be offered?

The new channels that will be of interest to the widest audience will be:

Showtime Extreme HD

Showtime Showcase HD

Planet Green HD

ABC Family HD

So really only 4 new national HD channels are being added, with two of those being for Showtime subscribers only.

Next up, DIRECTV promises additional HD pay per view channels. No specific numbers were given here, but not really a big deal considering they already have 15 HD PPV channels already.

Finally, DIRECTV says they will be adding 23 Regional Sports Networks in HD 24 hours a day. For most areas, this will mean between one and three additional RSN HD channels, as certain regional sports networks only go to certain areas where the hometown teams compete.

More surprising in this announcement were some of the channels left off of the list. Many DIRECTV customers have been waiting for Travel Channel HD, Fox News HD, WGN HD, and Lifetime Networks in HD. None of these were listed on the release, leaving customers disappointed.

DIRECTV has stated that with the DIRECTV 11 satellite, they will have capacity for up to 150 HD channels, so hopefully some of these and others will be added by year-end. The release also continued on to promote the wide variety of sports programming in HD, including the NFL Sunday Ticket, well of course if you pay for the Superfan add-on. Promises were also made as far as video on demand, as DIRECTV will continue to add HD content to the on-demand lineup.