Dish Network expanded their HD lineup over this past weekend, and continues stack up well against DIRECTV when it comes to the total number of HD channels available. The question now for both Dish Network and DIRECTV is what additional HD channels can be added?
The new channels that Dish Network added in high definition are BET J, The Movie Channel HD, Showtime Showcase HD, and Showtime 2 HD. According to the company, there are now 128 Dish Network HD channels available nationally. While more HD is of course better for the satellite TV subscriber, none of these channels will be available without additional cost.
Showtime Showcase HD, SHO2 HD, and The Movie channel HD are all part of the Showtime Unlimited package. This premium movie package costs Dish Network subscribers $12.99 per month. BET J was added to the Platinum HD lineup, which costs an additional $10 per month above standard $10 charge for HD content that is charged by Dish Network. The Platinum HD fee is also $10 extra for those who subscribe to Turbo HD.
There is a silver lining for some customers, those who don’t yet have HD through Dish Network. If you are a current Dish Network customer and add on HD programming, they will throw in the Platinum HD package for free for three months. At least that will give customers time to evaluate if the Dish Network Platinum HD channels are worth the money.
So what is next as far as Dish Network new HD channels go? Dish Network also announced that seven more channels will be coming “this Spring” so that leaves it a bit open as far as an exact date. These channels should be of more interest, as they are generally carried on basic tiers. Up next are Comedy Central, CMT (Country Music Television), MTV, Nickelodeon, Spike TV, BET, and VH-1.
As mentioned earlier, Dish Network now carries 128 national HD channels. While at one point last year, Dish was claiming 130 national HD channels, it looks like they have stopped counting their video on demand (VOD) channels, but are still counting pay per view channels, as does DIRECTV. Both Dish Network and DIRECTV have faced increased competition in the HD area from telecom player Verizon.
Verizon Fios service, where available, is now matching and in some areas exceeding the HD channel counts of satellite television companies.
10 comments ↓
I was wonderi ng when Dish was going to expland their HD selection even more now that Comcast had so many channels…it’s about time!
Any word on additional new Dish Network HD channels. I’m already spoiled, I know, but once you have watched HD, you don’t want to watch anything else.
I think Dish Network HD has finally caught up with Direct TV HD. I’ve had both over the past year, dropped Direct in favor of Dish in January as Direct TV refused to either upgrade or fix a DVR that kept freezing up. Thought I would be missing out on a few things when i made the move to Dishnetwork but I’m really happy with the HD and really, really happy with the Dishdvr
I am impressed with all of the new Dish Netwrok HD channels. I have had Comcast for about 5 years, and the HD was not up to what I expected from a big company like that. Once I got Dish Network TV, I literally had double the prior amount of HD channels.
I recently dropped Cox cable in favor of Dish Network….I am really surprised at how many more channels come in HD with Dish. No wonder cable Tv companies like Cox are having a hard time competing with what satellite Tv has.
What happened to Turbo HD? I was going to get it once my Direct TV contract was over with and now I cant find it. Did Dish Network drop Turbo HD as an option?
I’m also wondering what happened to Turbo HD. I was going to switch because of the customer support problems I was having with directv (would not replace a bad receiver, wait times > 30 mins for a person on the phone, constant phone calls pushing products, etc.) Turbo HD would have given me all the channels I needed for less than Directv. Current packages cost more.
Just got rid of Comcast a week ago in favor of Dish Network. All I can say is WOW. Such a difference when it comes to HD channels. So many more, and the quality is just better overall.
I am happy with the number of Dish Network HD channels available, I with their DVR held more content though. I record all kinds of movies in HD, but it seems like I am always bumping up against my limit when it comes to the Dish DVR capacity.
Pretty impressed with the HD package from Dish Network. I switched over from Mediacomm cable about 2 months ago, basically because in my area they only had about 20 HD channels. While Dish Network doesnt have every channel I want in HD, they really do a number on mediacomm as far as the total number of HD channels. I went with the Americas Everything package, and HD access of course in addition. Overall, the HD movies we watch are incredible and no need to rent from Blockbuster anymore, we just record them on the DVR and go from there.