DirecTV’s CFO Discusses 100 HD Channels & Standalone HD Networks

According to an article from Multichannel News, DirecTV says its upcoming lineup of 100 HD channels will include feeds from sports packages such as the NFL Sunday Ticket and MLB’s Extra Innings.

DIRECTV has said it will offer 100 national HDTV channels by year’s end, and Multichannel News reports that DirecTV CFO Michael Palkovic says the satcaster has 70 HD channels under contract.  The company has announced deals with several HD channels yet-to-be launched, including CNN, USA Network, Sci-Fi Channel, the Cartoon Network and The Weather Channel.  Palkovic also added that the 100-channel lineup will include feeds from Sunday Ticket, MLB’s Extra Innings and other sports packages. 

Palkovic said the Sunday Ticket, for example, which offers 13 different NFL games each week, would count as 13 HD channels. “That’s the way you would count that,” Palkovic told Multichannel News.

He said that about 70 or 80 channels would be 24/7, year-round HD channels, and he discounted speculation that DirecTV would add the 15-channel HD lineup from Voom: “First of all, there are no Voom channels, there is nothing like that that people would consider not really quality channels.  We’re talking USA, Sci Fi, some of the Turner networks, The Weather Channel, mainstream programming that’s been around for a long time that’s going to make the leap to HD.”

Hitachi Plasma Plant To Be Built in Malaysia

To meet demand in Australia and Southeast Asia and to cut production costs, Hitachi will reportedly spend about 3 billion yen to make plasma televisions in Malaysia.
Starting next month, Nitachi plans to make 10,000 units a month, company spokesman Masayuki Takeuchi said.  Hitachi will use the facilities of its optical devices subsidiary in the country to make 42″ plasma HDTVs and will eventually expanding production to 50″ screens, Takeushi added.
The company said in October that it will spend about 8 billion yen to build a flat-panel television factory in the Czech Republic. The plant will begin production this summer with a monthly output of about 80,000 units.  Also in October, Hitachi lowered its forecast for plasma HDTV shipments 20% to 800,000 units for the year ending March 31, 2007, citing slowing sales in the U.S. and China.

Tweeter to Close 49 Stores

High-end electronics retailer Tweeter plans to scale down its operations and close 49 stores over the next two months in California, Tennessee, Alabama, New York, and most in Georgia.  After the closures, Tweeter will have 104 stores nationwide.

Tweeter, an early supporter of HDTVs and the new HD DVDs, has seen profits fall over the last year due to shrinking HDTV prices.  Similarly,  Circuit City last month announced the closing of 70 of its stores.

Tweeter says it will restructure the company, investing more heavily in its “Consumer Electronics Playground” stores.  There are currently seven CEP locations, and Tweeter says it will open two new ones in North Carolina this Fall.  Tweeter says all new stores will be CEP.
 

“As we continue to face the challenges of our ever-changing industry, we do so with a renewed focus on the future of our brand and on our ability to deliver the ultimate consumer electronics shopping experience,” said Tweeter CEO Joe McGuire in a statement.

Hitachi to Launch HDTVs with Removable Hard Drives

It is being reported by Reuters that earlier today, Hitachi announced its plans to sell HDTVs with removable hard drives that can record and store HD programming.  The drives, which Hitachi is calling “Information Versatile Disks,” will prevent duplication of copyrighted HD content.

Reuters says the 80GB hard drive will cost roughly $175, and a larger 160GB unit that can record 32 hours of HD programming  will cost about $300.  Once the hard drive is filled to capacity, it can then be removed and stored much like a recordable DVD.
Hitachi says that the hard drives will be introduced next month in Japan, but there is so far no word on when they will be available in the United States; Reuters reports that it could be 1-2 years.

Could this spell trouble for Blu-ray or HD DVD recorders??? 

Comcast to Preview “Planet Earth” in HD

An article in his week’s Multichannel News reports that Comcast will air an episode of the long-awaited Planet Earth miniseries, more than a week before its scheduled premeire on the Discovery Channel, in high-definition this Friday.

Multichannel News also reports that Discovery  will debut the Planet Earth episode “Forests” on its Video on Demand channel on March 16.  The on-demand episode of “Forests” will also include behind-the-scenes footage and scenes of upcoming episodes.  Discovery’s on-demand channel is carried by several cable operators, but only Comcast is offering it in HD.   

Planet Earth has been in production for five years and will include 11 one-hour episodes on nature subjects such as mountains, oceans, and forests.  Planet Earth will premiere on the regular Discovery Channel on March 25.
 

DirecTV Delivers March Maddness in HD

Even though DirecTV has been offering the NCAA basketball tournament package for a few years, this year will be the first time that all games will be broadcast in HD, DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer says.

The $69 Mega March Madness package (no extra charge for HD games) includes all 64 tournament games, which begin next week.  DirecTV will also offer with the Mega March madness package several interactive features (which require DirecTV Plus receiver).  The Game Mix feature offers up to four broadcasts on a single channel, up-to-the-minute tournament scores and statistics available at the push of a button, and an on-screen tournament bracket that will allow fans to input and track their own game picks.

“This Mega March Madness service is great, because it allows fans to follow their favorite teams and catch the historic moments as they develop throughout the entire tournament regardless of which city fans reside in,” said UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland, whom DirecTV signed as the official spokesman for the Mega March Madness package.

WealthTV Added to Time Warner’ HD On Demand

In some cities, WealthTV is now a part of Time Warner Cable’s HD On Demand menu.  Time Warner and several other cable operators are bolstering their HD On Demand lineups as a way to expand high-def programming without adding entire channels.  

WealthTV is not just a clever name; it’s a network devoted to programming for higher-income viewers.  WealthTV programs now available on TW’s HD VOD include Wealth on the Water, Let’s Shop: Bangkok, and Wealth on Wheels.  WealthTV has struggled to find spots in cable and satellite lineups and hopes to reach a wider audience as part of the HD On Demand menu.