Does DIRECTV Have Room For Fox News Channel HD?
The high-def channel will launch tomorrow.
By Swanni
Afterall, the satcaster's former corporate parent, News Corp., owns the Fox News Channel and a DIRECTV official privately told TVPredictions.com last year that the company would carry Fox News Channel HD when it launched.
However, in yesterday's announcement from Fox, the network said Time Warner Cable would carry the new high-def channel in parts of New York and Texas.
There was no mention of DIRECTV. Zero. Zilch. (There was also no other TV provider mentioned.)
So, what gives?
Well, things have changed since last year when DIRECTV was rolling out dozens of new national HD channels, eventually bringing its total to 95. Despite boasts of having more HD capacity than cable, DIRECTV is now running out of satellite space.
That's why the satcaster has added just a handful of new HD channels this year -- and it's why it's careful not to discuss adding more channels until a new satellite is operational this fall.
The capacity problem was dramatized earlier this year when DIRECTV and Crown Media Holdings, the parent company of the Hallmark Movie Channel, announced that the satcaster had secured the rights to carry the new high-def version of the movie channel.
However, although Hallmark Movie Channel HD launched on April 2, DIRECTV has yet to add it.
So, as much as DIRECTV would like to add Fox News Channel HD, it would not be surprising if the channel is missing from the satcaster's high-def lineup for some time to come.
Final note: DIRECTV last year made several pre-launch announcements for new HD channels. But this year, the company has been mum about new channels until they are actually launched.
Times have changed.
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Swanni (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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