Washington, D.C. (July 28, 2008) -- DIRECTV today said it will offer local high-def channels in 121 cities by year's end with the addition of 44 new markets.

The rollout of the 44 new cities will begin in August and continue through the end of the year, the company said. DIRECTV added that the 121 markets will represent 88 percent of U.S. TV households.

The satcaster also said it would deliver HD programming from the primary broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC -- where available and authorized to customers who subscribe to any Total  Choice programming package that offers local channels.

Satellite and cable TV services sometimes do not offer all major broadcast networks in local high-def due to carriage disputes with the local affiliates.

The new markets to be added this year include:
Augusta, Ga.
Harrisonburg, Va.
Bangor, Maine
La Crosse-Eau Claire, Wis.
Baton Rouge, La.
Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Ark.
Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas
Lincoln-Hastings, Neb.
Boise, Idaho
Macon, Ga.
Burlington, Vt.-Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Mobile AL-Pensacola, Fla.
Butte-Bozeman, Mont.
Myrtle Beach-Florence, S.C.
Champaign-Springfield-Decatur, Ill.
Norfolk-Newport News, Va.
Charleston, S.C.
Palm Springs, Calif.
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Peoria-Bloomington, Ill.
Colorado Springs-Pueblo, Colo.
Richmond-Petersburg, Va.
Columbia-Jefferson City, Mo.
Rockford, Ill.
Davenport, Iowa-Rock Island, Ill.
Rochester, N.Y.
Moline, Ill.
Dayton, Ohio
Savannah, Ga.
Des Moines-Ames, Iowa
Sioux Falls, S.D.
Dothan, Ala.
South Bend-Elkhart, Ind.
El Paso, Texas
Springfield-Holyoke, Mass.
Evansville, Ind.
Syracuse, N.Y.
Fort Smith, Ark.
Tallahassee, Fla.
Fort Wayne, Ind.
Toledo, Ohio
Greenville-New Bern-Washington, N.C.
Traverse City-Cadillac,  Mich.
Harlingen-Brownsville, Texas
Youngstown, Ohio

DIRECTV also said today that it will launch more than 30 new High-Definition channels, beginning August 14, bringing its overall total to 130.

However, 23 of the new channels will be regional sports networks.

DIRECTV said the new HD channels that will launch next month are:
Showtime Extreme HD, Showtime Showcase HD, Planet Green HD, ABC Family HD, additional DIRECTV HD PPV channels and an additional 23 Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) in HD 24 hours a day.

DIRECTV launched a new satellite in March (DIRECTV 11) that will enable the expansion. The satcaster says the new satellite -- and an additional one that will be launched next year -- will give it capacity for 200 national HD channels.

The satcaster did not say if the DIRECTV 11 satellite will permit it to offer more national high-def channels this fall.