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DISH Network adds seven new Viacom HD channels, cements HD supremacy

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 10th 2009 at 7:11PM

If you want your MTV HD you can get it, and BET HD, CMT HD, Comedy Central HD, Nickelodeon HD, Spike TV HD and VH1 HD on DISH Network. Thanks to a new deal with Viacom, all those HD feeds were announced today as available to all subscribers at no extra cost. Also included? Video on-demand and Internet streaming rights that senior VP Dave Shull had no problem claiming as a testament to DISH's "continued HD leadership" while also asserting its HD supremacy. BET HD is available on the Classic Silver 200 HD package and up, while all the rest are on the Classic Bronze 100 lineup.

DirecTV adds Comedy Central HD, Engadget HD consolidates HD expansion news

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Jan 25th 2009 at 12:15PM

Comedy Central HD logoUsually we don't like to post the same news twice, but by the looks of all the tips we've gotten pointing us to the fact that DirecTV added Comedy Central HD -- thanks by the way -- we figured it wouldn't hurt to ride on the exciting news to introduce a new weekly roundup post at Engadget HD. In the past, HD expansions were so few and far between that it was a very big deal around here, but in the past 6 months or so they're so common that we've decided to consolidate them into a weekly post. So from now on you can look for a weekly post with the tag channels that'll include every new HD channel on every provider for that week.

South Park finally goes HD in season 13

by Darren Murph posted Jan 20th 2009 at 8:51PM


Hold on to your hats, kids -- South Park is making its long awaited high-def debut in just under two months. Starting on March 11th with the season 13 premier, every successive episode of the famed cartoon will be in glorious high-definition. Furthermore, the crew has been toiling around the clock in order to re-render previous episodes in native HD (presumably for Blu-ray releases), so don't be shocked to see episodes from years past show up on Comedy Central HD a bit clearer than you remember. And here you were thinking the show was teetering on the edge of irrelevance.

[Thanks, Michael]

AT&T's U-verse TV picking up seven Viacom networks in HD

by Darren Murph posted Jan 16th 2009 at 1:08PM


Just days after AT&T announced that NHL Network HD would be gliding over to U-verse TV, in flies a report stating that Viacom and AT&T have linked up on a sweet new deal. Said agreement will enable seven new networks to join the U-verse TV EPG: MTV HD, VH1 HD, CMT HD, BET HD, Nickelodeon HD, Comedy Central HD and Spike HD. The deal also "renews carriage of the MTVN and BETN channels and VOD content featured on AT&T U-verse TV, and provides for carriage of new international channels, including MTV India, later this year." Now, let's wait and see if those monthly rates creep up any after the fact.

Comedy Central HD launches today on Cablevision

by Richard Lawler posted Jan 13th 2009 at 2:34PM Breaking News

Comedy Central HD launches today, and Cablevision iO TV subscribers will be the first to see it. According to Multichannel News we can expect 200 hours or so of native HD programming to start, including about 30 episodes of South Park, The Sarah Silverman Program, plus loads of archived stand up and films. Coming up fresh and new for your HDTV is season 13 of South Park, Reno 911, The Flaming Sward of Fire and Krod Mandoon, while The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,and The Colbert Report will get an HD upgrade at a later date. Besides nabbing the exclusive, Cablevision's trumpeting its numbers showing HD penetration is up to nearly 50 percent of iO TV subs, with 69 HD channels available. Otherwise, DirecTV and Cox will be adding later this month with more launches due later in the year -- hopefully Time Warner worked that into the latest deal with Viacom.

[Via Multichannel News]

Time Warner, Viacom reach agreement; Bromance crisis averted

by Richard Lawler posted Jan 1st 2009 at 2:45AM Breaking News

Put down the bubbly and nearest willing stranger for a moment, if you're a Time Warner Cable subscriber, you may have noticed that your MTV Networks channels -- including everyone's favorite Palladia / MHD -- are still there, even after a very public squabble threatened to turn them dark around the same time everyone's Zune started working again. Both sides have confirmed the cable giant reached an agreement in principle with Viacom, without revealing how it happened. How much did Viacom end up getting? We may have to wait for the next TWC rate hike to know for sure. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

American Cable Association calls out Viacom's annoying crawl

by Richard Lawler posted Dec 31st 2008 at 6:47PM


We're not sure how this demand will be received, but the American Cable Association's argument is simple: if only Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks subs are in danger of losing MTV Networks channels at the stroke of midnight, why are we all bothered with an annoying crawl message? Of course, that plea is couched by statements backing TWC and BHN's reluctance to agree to new higher programming fees, but those of us eagerly anticipating a Miley-Sized surprise during tonight's NYE celebration that have a different provider could do without the interruptions.

Time Warner Cable threatens Viacom with the ghosts of Christmas past

by Richard Lawler posted Dec 31st 2008 at 4:21PM

Time Warner Cable CEO & President Glenn Britt says don't blame him, blame sliding advertising and falling ratings for Viacom's lost revenue and subsequent Scrooge-style "extortion" of TWC customers to keep MTV Networks on after the ball drops tonight. Beyond the outrageous claim that viewers might be tuning away from My Super Sweet 16 marathons, Britt claims that "penny per subscriber per day" adds up to an unreasonable $39 million, while TWC nobly attempts to keep negotiations going on behalf of its customers. Oddly we find it hard to view either side as thinking of the customer first in this slapfight, but if we miss a single episode of Bromance before things are resolved, there will be hell to pay. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

Xbox Live queues up more HD movies & TV for March

by Richard Lawler posted Feb 29th 2008 at 1:52PM

Xbox Live Marketplace has been busy adding videos all year and it looks like March will be the same way, with Afro Samurai hitting the service in HD only next month. More South Park is coming too, starting March 10, along with a free episode of Lewis Black's new show and Robot: Chicken: Star Wars. No word on if the latter two are available in HD, but check after the break for some of the movies showing up for rent next month.

Continue reading Xbox Live queues up more HD movies & TV for March





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