Comcast Moves HD Channels to Cheaper Plan
The cable operator says it wants more subscribers to get high-def.
By Swanni
That's according to The Detroit News, which reports that the basic package is about $14 a month less than the "preferred" package.
Previously, Comcast subscribers in Detroit needed the preferred package to get access to high-def channels. But the basic plan will now include all HD channels except for the premium networks such as HBO and Showtime.
(The total monthly cost of a basic plan and preferred plan varies by the number of channels the subscriber gets.)
It's unclear if Comcast will make the same offer in other markets. But in Detroit at least, it appears that the cable operator is trying to counter DIRECTV's recent expansion of high-def channels.
The satcaster has raised its total of national HD channels from nine to more than 80 in the last two months.
Although Comcast has only about 30 HD channels, allowing more subscribers to watch the non-premium HD channels could keep them from switching to DIRECTV.
"As TV prices are coming down, more and more people are able to get HD," Travis Frank, Comcast's product manager for Michigan, told the Detroit News. "We'd like to get as many people subscribing to HD as possible."
In addition to the basic package, Comcast subscribers in Detroit will need to rent a high-def box ($7 a month) to get the extra HD channels as part of their service.
Comcast also announced yesterday that it will add four HD channels in Detroit by month's end: USA Network HD, TBS HD, The History Channel HD and CNN HD.
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