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Amazon's 2009 Holiday Sale -- Continues!
News
Analysis
DIRECTV Fesses Up On 'HDTV Capacity'
By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (December 14,
2009) --
DIRECTV has been running a sophisticated marketing campaign
saying that it will soon have the 'capacity' to deliver 200 HD
channels.
However, some observers,
including yours truly, have suggested
that DIRECTV's campaign purposely misleads consumers into
thinking that it will actually offer 200 HD channels, not just
have the capacity to do so.
DIRECTV's ads say it will soon have a "200 channel HD capacity,"
unlike cable and other TV provider rivals. But many consumers
are not familiar with industry jargon such as 'capacity' and
therefore will assume that a 200 HD channel capacity means
DIRECTV will provide 200 HD channels.
Well, in an article in this week's Multichannel News, DIRECTV
finally conceded that it may not provide 200 HD channels after
all.
DIRECTV executive vice president Derek Chang notes that his
company is launching a new satellite that should be operational
at the end of the first half of 2010.
“That (the new
satellite) will give us 50 percent more
capacity,” Chang told Multichannel News. “We
will be able to do up to 200 channels, when
other guys are struggling to get to 100.”
Read more
below.
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But Chang added that DIRECTV
hasn’t decided if it will use all of that capacity for new HD
channels.
DIRECTV now claims that it offers 130 HD channels, but many of
those are PPV channels and distant network signals, which are
not available to all subscribers. The satcaster could use the
new satellite to add 20-30 more PPV channels -- and a few actual
HD networks -- and then claim it has more than 160 high-def
channels.
The satcaster hasn't said it will do that, but it also hasn't
said it will add any specific, real HD channels, such as AMC,
Turner Classic Movies, WGN America and many others which are now
available in some cable and satellite lineups.
So, bottom line: Until DIRECTV actually says it will add more
real HD channels with that new satellite, don't assume that it
will.
Amazon's 2009 Holiday Sale -- Continues!
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© TVPredictions.com
______________________________________________________
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.
Click TVPredictions.com to read more news and features on TV technology.
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