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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But there's no support from DIRECTV.
It appears that the satcaster is hoping that the addition of AMC HD will appease high-def viewers long enough to allow it save time (and money) by not adding more HD channels. You see, it costs money to pay programmers to carry their channels and DIRECTV is desperately trying to slow its spending on programming acquisition costs.
That's understandable. But DIRECTV's chief rivals obviously see the benefits of BBC America HD to their viewers -- and they have been willing to spend money to deliver those benefits.
DIRECTV should, too -- and the satcaster better not hope that a single morsel of AMC HD is enough to keep its HD subscribers satisfied. It isn't. And if DIRECTV doesn't accept that fact -- embrace that fact -- and soon, it will once again start losing HD enthusiasts to its rivals.
