Nary a fortnight after hearing that Verizon has dialed its FiOS TV sights in on Manassas, Virginia, along comes word that Comcast is giving its subscribers in the area four more reasons to stay put. Predictably, three of the four consist of ABC Family HD, Disney HD and Science HD, while the outcast is AMC HD. The carrier is now blasting out 38 high-definition channels in Prince William County (including HD on Demand), but that's still a couple shy of what Verizon's going to be packing when it sashays into town. Nothing like a little HD mudslinging, eh?

[Thanks, Ryan]

For those with DISH Network, chances are you've already realized that World Fishing Network HD joined the lineup this past Monday. Nevertheless, the channel -- along with Insight Sports -- is eager for the world to know that WFN HD has indeed landed a carriage agreement on the aforementioned satcaster. In case you couldn't guess from the channel's name, it promises to deliver 24 / 7 fishing action, including shows like Dave Mercer's Facts of Fishing, The New Fly Fisher, Fishing the Flats, Fins N' Skins Classic Adventures and George Poveromo's Saltwater Fishing. Never mind buying a rod and reel -- just kick back and watch the real anglers do it.

Yep, Comcast has added in three new HD nets along the New Jersey shore, and we're giving you exactly one guess as to which three we're talking about. ABC Family HD (195), Disney HD (239) and Science HD (194) were just added in Ocean and Monmouth counties (you did get that correct, right?), and we have a sneaking suspicion they'll be reaching other systems very, very shortly. Where will they end up next? Stay tuned, it's sure to be a thriller.

[Thanks, Joe]

Right around a month after Charter saw fit to gift the greater St. Louis area with eight new HD channels comes word that little 'ole Osage Beach is next in line to get eleven of its own. Matter of fact, AMC HD, Animal Planet HD, CNN HD, TBS HD, The Movie Channel (TMC) HD, TLC HD, Smithsonian Channel HD, Science HD, Discovery HD, Versus / Golf HD and The Weather Channel HD should all be live in the area as we speak. The rather impressive list of additions brings the total in the region to 30. According to Steve Trippe, vice president and general manager for Charter Communications in Missouri, the carrier will "continue to increase its HD offerings," though no specifics beyond that were released.

New York, also known as Verizon's FiOS TV playground, is getting yet another connected town. The Wesley Hills Village Board granted a video franchise to the carrier, ratcheting the number of FiOS TV-enabled communities in NY to 110. It's not mentioned exactly how many domiciles in the Rockland County town will have access to service, but hopefully the vast majority of you living there will be within reach when it goes live in the near future.

While many cable customers stuck with TWC, Charter, Cox or any of the other mega-cable carriers out there can't buy an HD channel, the relatively diminutive ATMC Cable is making sure its tiny footprint of North Carolina subscribers are getting the most for their dollar. Continuing its slow but steady rollout of high-def options, the outfit has just thrown Smithsonian HD into the mix. The channel lands softly on slot 961 and becomes partners with HDNet, HDNet Movies, HD Theater, Universal HD, National Geographic HD and MOJO HD in the appropriately titled HD Suite. Best of all, the company has promised even more offerings in the coming weeks, most notably USA HD and PBS HD.

Check it -- Comcast subscribers in Montgomery County, Maryland are apparently the next bunch to receive the carrier's favorite trifecta: Science HD, Disney HD and ABC Family HD. According to a local, the lineup is still missing others like CNN HD and AMC HD, which have picked up by nearby Comcast systems already, but we suspect something is better than nothing. Oh, and if you haven't picked up on it yet, stay on the lookout for these three in your area -- odds are they're coming soon.

[Thanks, Jerry]

Go on AT&T, dance like nobody's watchin'. Just days after hearing that U-verse would likely find a home in Baton Rouge, LA and certain parts of Alabama, along comes a tidbit suggesting that West Chicago could be next. According to an article within the latest Glen Ellyn Newsletter, AT&T will be "performing an infrastructure upgrade" to its system in Glen Ellyn over the next six to nine months "in order to provide better phone service, enhance and expand its DSL offerings and introduce a new video service to residents." Project Lightspeed, as it's dubbed, will reportedly begin to roll out as early as this month, but there's no telling how long it'll take to be totally installed. For more details, hit up the PDF in the read link below and scroll to the bottom of page 4.

[Thanks, Matt]

After tying the knot with AT&T and Verizon, it seems that Lifetime HD has wooed Cox Communications as well. Lifetime Networks has just announced a "wide-ranging agreement" that will bring all of its multi-platform channels -- including Lifetime Television HD, Lifetime Movie Network HD, Lifetime On Demand and Lifetime Movie Network Espanol On Demand -- to the cable carrier. Of course, the network took the opportunity to restate just how many females aged 18 to 54 will be absolutely elated to hear the news, but they'll all have to patiently wait until June before it begins rolling out to Cox systems.

ZON TVCabo, a leading programming provider in Portugal, has introduced an all new HD DVR for its users: the imaginatively titled ZON BOX. The unit boasts a 160GB hard drive, USB 2.0 port, gigabit Ethernet and HDMI / component / S-Video / composite jacks for good measure. We're also informed that the box will come in handy here soon, with National Geographic HD (which recently launched on rival Portugal Telecom), MOV HD and possibly SportTV HD going live. The latter two channels would be dedicated to movies / TV series and sporting events such as Euro 2008, respectively. Unfortunately, we weren't able to solicit pricing information, but feel free to give the carrier a call and see what this gem will run you.

For Time Warner Cable customers jealous over those eight newcomers received by Cox subscribers in the OC earlier this year, how's about this? According to the flier you see above, a full dozen will be hitting the lineup in Southern California sometime soon, but unfortunately, we can't determine if we're talking "tomorrow" soon or "next quarter" soon. Nevertheless, you folks in the area can look forward to seeing Disney HD, HGTV HD, A&E HD, Food HD, ABC Family HD, National Geographic HD, History HD, Versus / Golf HD, CNN HD, TLC HD, ESPNews HD and Discovery HD slip into the lineup, which ought to make your nightly viewing much more enjoyable. C'mon TWC, spread the love elsewhere, will ya? [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks, Munawar]

Charter already delivered TLC HD and Discovery HD to Western Michigan early last month, but now the carrier is gearing up to bring five newcomers to the central part of the state. According to a subscriber located in mid-Michigan, TBS HD, Discovery HD, TLC HD, CNN HD and Animal Planet HD are prepared to land on June 3rd (or so says a mailed flier), though there's no word on what slots they will fill or if any others will be following suit. Hey, with U-verse closing in, you've got to keep up appearances, right?

[Thanks, Matt]

We already knew that National Geographic HD was poised to land in Austria and Switzerland soon, but maybe not this soon. Nevertheless, the channel has indeed launched in both nations on UPV digital cable, putting its content in front of over one million subscribers in these two countries alone. Get down with your bad self, Europe.

Looks like Alabama isn't the only southeastern US state AT&T's aiming its U-verse arrow at -- The Bayou State could be following suit in short order. According to William Oliver, president of AT&T's Louisiana operations, the carrier could begin servicing Baton Rouge with U-verse "within the next 18 to 24 months." Citing "competitive reasons" as the motive behind failing to elaborate, we are told that the Metro Council has already "unanimously approved an agreement with AT&T, patterned after one with Cox Communications." Not surprisingly, U-verse would aim to compete with Cox and Eatel (not to mention the two major satcasters), and while other cities in the state weren't mentioned by name, Oliver did proclaim that AT&T "had its crosshairs on a couple of locations." Call us crazy, but we think we've spotted a rollout race.

[Thanks, David]

After Sat. 1 HD and ProSieben HD went dark in Germany until 2010, things haven't been as dormant as expected. Late last month, we received word that both FOX and TNT would be making their way over (and hopefully in HD), and now we're seeing that both National Geographic HD and MHD (MTV HD) could be arriving on undisclosed cable carriers in the near future. Reportedly, Nat Geo HD -- which is nearly ready in Austria and Switzerland -- could be arriving any moment, while MHD is likely to land on PREMIERE this December. Slowly but surely, it looks as if Europe may actually be moving forward in adopting HDTV programming.

[Thanks, Chris]

Read - National Geographic HD to Germany
Read - MHD to Germany