Washington, D.C. (October 22, 2007) -- Verizon says its FiOS TV service will add a "significant amount" of High-Definition programming next spring.

That's according to an article in Multichannel News.

The telco has drawn fire recently from some subscribers  for being tight-lipped about its upcoming HDTV plans -- and its decision not to add TBS HD for the 2007 Major League Baseball playoffs.

Verizon's FiOS now carries 19 national HDTV channels and the local high-def networks. However, DIRECTV and EchoStar now offer dozens of high-def channels and several cable operators are expanding their HD lineups as well.

But Shawn Strickland, vice president of video solutions for Verizon, says the telco is moving to add a "significant amount of HD content" next spring.

Strickland was vague about whether that meant more high-def channels or perhaps VOD content in high-def.

“At this stage it’s not about which specific HD channels you’ve got. It’s about the amount of HD you have,” Strickland said, according to Multichannel News.

To create more room for HD channels and other programming, Strickland said Verizon is moving to deliver all TV programming over Internet Protocol (IP) lines by 2009.

Verizon, which now has more than 500,000 subscribers, is also planning to add more services such as home networking so viewers can display photos and music on their TVs. The company is also planning to add several interactive games in 2008.

"There's not a single silver bullet that will tip the balance" in the war between the TV providers, Strickland said, according to Multichannel News. "TV is the ultimate mass-market product, in that you have such a wide variance of customer expectations and you have to meet a number of those.”

Commentary:

In my view, Verizon is not placing a high priority on High-Definition services. The telco apparently believes that interactive services, such as games and home networking, will be just as effective in luring home viewers away from cable and satellite.

"With FiOS, we have more bandwidth than any competing technologies and lower latency (signal delays)," a Verizon official told Investors Business Daily recently. "The result is that you can have pretty darn good gaming, spectacular live-style gaming, as if people are in the same room."

How foolish.

There are now more than 30 million High-Definition TV owners in the U.S. -- and they want more high-def channels, not interactive games. Interactive TV has failed -- over and over again -- in this country and it will continue to fail.

Next spring? Verizon will add more high-def programming next spring?

The company needs to wake up. Next spring may be too late. The major cable and satellite operators may have the high-def audience locked up by then.

Bottom Line: Any TV provider that puts Interactive TV ahead of HDTV -- or even at the same level -- does not understand the TV audience.

And it will fail miserably.

Verizon should be using all bandwidth available to expand its high-def lineup, not trying to help people play trivia games on their televisions.

Comment on this article!

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

Click TVPredictions.com to see today's Swanni Sez.

© TVPredictions.com
____________________________________________

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.

Click TVPredictions.com to read more news and features on TV technology.