Verizon: 150 HD Channels In 2008
The telco answers charges that it's been slow on high-def.
By Swanni
In addition, the telco said it would expand its HD VOD service and launch a "major expansion" of sports and multicultural programming next year.
"Once more, Verizon leads the way," Shawn Strickland, Verizon's vice president of video solutions, said in a statement. We launched FiOS TV in 2005 with more HD than most cable and satellite companies, and we know that our HD customers expect us to continue that lead. We're planning a major initiative in 2008 that will give our customers an unprecedented choice of HD and other programming."
Verizon, which now has more than 700,000 subscribers to its FiOS TV service, has come under fire recently for not adding new HD channels, such as TBS HD which broadcast first and second round action in this year's baseball playoffs.
And while the telco appeared to be dragging its feet on high-def, satcasters DIRECTV and EchoStar (and some cable operators) were expanding their HD lineups, escalating customer concerns.
But Verizon today said it will begin expanding its HD lineup in the spring of 2008. Initially, it said, it will double the lineup to 60 HD channels, including additional sports channels.
The telco said it expects to have more than 150 HD channels by the end of 2008.
"FiOS TV delivers a true HD experience," Strickland said. "Unlike some other service providers, Verizon doesn't compromise quality by compressing programming into limited bandwidth. Our fiber-optic network has the capacity to deliver programming the way programmers intended it to be seen."
In addition to the expanded HD channel lineup, Verizon said it expects to increase its HD VOD lineup to more than 1,000 HD titles in 2008.
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