TBS: No HDTV Channel Yet

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TBS: No HDTV Channel Yet
But a top network executive says he hopes the channel is launched by next year's baseball playoffs.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (November 29, 2006) -- TBS this year was awarded the rights to broadcast the first round of Major League Baseball's 2007 playoffs. However, there's a catch for High-Definition TV owners.

TBS does not have a high-def channel, meaning the playoffs could be aired in non-HD only for the first time in several years. (ESPN and Fox, which do have high-def channels, have the rights to broadcast the remaining games.)

Asked today at the HD World Conference and Exposition in New York if TBS plans to launch a HDTV channel in 2007, a TBS executive smiled but was non-committal.

"We have no plans to make an announcement at this time," said Clyde Smith, TBS' executive vice president of engineering,

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Smith added that he "hoped" the network would have a high-def channel in time for the baseball playoffs.

But he said the network wants to launch when the time is right. He noted that most cable and satellite operators now do not have room in their HD lineups for additional channels due to a lack of system space.

TBS does produce a high-def broadcast of the Atlanta Braves for Comcast's regional sports channel. However, it's unclear if it could offer a special HD feed at multiple venues during the playoff round.

In his keynote speech at HD World, DIRECTV Entertainment President David Hill today urged more cable networks to launch high-def channels. The satcaster is scheduled to expand its high-def lineup in 2007 by launching two new satellites.

Hill said the non-HD networks must "go HD or get lost in the mix."

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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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