TV Predictions Interview
Comcast's Steve Burke On HDTV
The cable op's chief operating officer says he expects to offer up to 35 high-def channels in 2007.
Interview by Joseph Whip
HD Observer

Washington, D.C. (September 13, 2006) -- Steve Burke, Comcast's 48-year-old COO and president, has been with the company since 1998. However, it's safe to say that he's now facing his biggest challenge.

Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator with more than 20 million subscribers, is under attack from telephone giants AT&T and Verizon, which have recently launched new TV services to bolster their communications offerings.

In addition, satcasters DIRECTV and EchoStar continue their aggressive pursuit of cable's best customers -- namely those who subscribe to High-Definition TV and Digital Video Recording services.

With that in mind, Burke and Comcast understand how important HDTV is to the company's future growth.

Joseph Whip, a HD Observer for TVPredictions.com, recently interviewed Burke on Comcast's future plans for high-def. Burke told Whip that he expects Comcast to offer up to 35 HD channels next year and to soon provide high-def feeds of regional sports channels.

Here's the entire interview:

TV Predictions: Clearly sales of HD sets, especially flat panel sets, are starting to boom. Studies have also indicated that a significant percentage of HD sets already purchased are not yet hooked up to an HD source, be it broadcast, cable or DBS. How highly does Comcast value HD and how does HD fit into Comcast's business model for the next several years?

Steve Burke: HD is a very important part of our business model. We were one of the first cable operators to offer HD and in most of our markets we offer more highly rated HD programming, than anyone. We also offer more HD VOD (Video on Demand) than any other provider and many places (markets) are up to 100 hours of HD VOD.


Comcast's Steve Burke at 2004 address to Colgate U.

TVP: How does Comcast decide which HD channels to offer?
 
SB: It’s all about the content. Our customers have said that they want more movies, sports and broadcast shows in HD, so that’s the majority of what we’re giving them. They also want to watch TV on their schedules, so that’s why we’re increasing our HD VOD from about 15 hours a month to 100 hours a month.

TVP: Can you estimate how many new HD channels will be offered on Comcast systems between now and the end of the third quarter 2007?
 
SB: We’re planning to offer 32-35 HD channels (including broadcast) by the third quarter of 2007. (Note: Comcast now has around 20 national and local HD channels, depending upon the market.)

TVP: Many Comcast subscribers want Comcast to add HDNet and HDNet Movies. We have heard many rumors as to why these channels have not been (added) by Comcast such as cost, lack of bandwidth and the presence of INHD and INHD2 in which Comcast has an ownership stake. Can you elaborate on why HDNet/HDNet Movies have not been added?

SB: We’ve had discussions with HDNet, but can’t provide specific details at this time.

TVP: It has also been reported that INHD2 will be eliminated as a channel. Are these rumors true, and if so, when will INHD2 cease to exist?

SB: I can’t comment on In Demand’s plans for INHD2 (Note: In Demand is the parent company of high-def channels INHD and INHD2), but a lot of the programming on INHD2 is similar to what’s available on other full-time HD channels. So we are beginning to drop it in some areas and are adding channels like MHD and ESPN2 HD.
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"We’re planning to offer 32-35 HD channels (including broadcast) by the third quarter of 2007."
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TVP: Will we see any of the following HD channels offered on Comcast systems by the end of 2006:  National Geographic HD, Food Network HD and HGTV HD?

SB: We talk to programmers all the time about new opportunities, but don’t have anything to announce now.

TVP: Does Comcast plan to carry Fox RSNs (Regional Sports Networks) in HD in cities like Detroit as these RSNs have been added by DIRECTV? If so, when can we expect these channels to be added?

SB: We are in talks with Fox now and would like to launch their RSNs as soon as possible.

Click Burke to read part two of HD Observer Joseph Whip's interview with Comcast's COO and President.

Click TVPredictions.com to see the rest of today's Swanni Sez.

© TVPredictions.com

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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