The NHL may not have the viewership in America as, say, the NFL, but that doesn't mean it can't find fans elsewhere. In a rather unexpected move, Hong Kong-based All Sports Network (ASN) has signed a multi-year deal to posses rights for broadcasting NHL matchups throughout much of Asia (India, South Korea and China included). Over 130 upcoming regular-season games will be televised on ASN's Yes TV along with the All-Star game, playoffs and the Stanley Cup Final. The good news? The broadcast rights include "all forms of television, including HDTV." The bad? Japan, Australia and New Zealand have been excluded from the agreement.

[Image courtesy of The Globe & Mail]

Reliance Communication just gave a whole swath of Indians a new way to receive television programming with the launch of Reliance Big TV. The service is built around MPEG-4 technology, which bodes well for it keeping its promise of adding 8 to 10 high-def channels by the end of this year. Currently, the service offers a total of 202 channels -- all in standard-definition -- though we really see a great possibility for HD expansion in this venture. After all, it's the whole "still using MPEG-2" thing that's holding Freeview up in Australia.

Looks like Movie Gallery finally got something for the assortment of PBS bandwidth and spare parts remaining from the now-defunct MovieBeam service. The new owner is Indian conglomerate The Valuable Group, headed by Sanjay Gaikwad who apparently thinks serving up a remarkably limited assortment of heavily compressed HD and SD movies on demand is an idea that deserves to fail all over the world, instead of just in the U.S. Since $100 million burned up by Disney and others wasn't enough to make things work, he plans to invest a similar amount over the next two years to relaunch the service in North America, the U.K. and "other overseas markets". Variety notes The Valuable Group already delivers movies digitally to India and South Asian theaters via satellite so maybe they know something we don't about this business model, and with plans to roll out service in three markets with "new, cutting edge features" by year end we'll get to find out soon.

National Geographic has been spreading its wings in foreign nations for some time, but now the outfit is broadening its reach in India by announcing that four new channels will soon be available in the ever-growing country. Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Adventure, Nat Geo Music and Nat Geo HD have all been approved for airing in India, though we aren't told what carriers will be picking 'em up. Suffice it to say, this is all the encouragement you need to start bugging your own operator to pick up the new foursome -- particularly that high-def iteration.

[Via PTI News]

India has another option for high definition on the way, satellite provider Dish TV (not Dish Network) is planning to launch MPEG-4 HD broadcasts by the end of this year. Managing director Jawahar Goel says the company is still in talks with 2-3 TV channels for content, but with more broadcasters coming online we figure things will start to pick up. The Hindu notes competing provider Tata Sky says its equipment is ready for HD broadcasts but are waiting for content before launching, while Barti Telemedia is similarly on HD-compatible equipment already but still holding off launching services. Hey, anything prior to 2010 is a start.

Don't look now, but it seems that even more of India's population will have access to a sliver of HD programming. Intermedia Cable Communication, which is Pune's dominant MSO servicing some 40,000 homes, has launched five HD networks for its subscribers to enjoy. Unfortunately, the release doesn't mention what those channels are, but we are told that customers can expect to catch the Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Commonwealth Games (hosted in Delhi, India) to be aired in high-def. As for future plans, the provider is hoping to lure even more high-definition content to its carriage system, and in the meantime, it's looking to dole out as many HD STBs as possible in its service area.

[Thanks, Zaid]

Shortly after hearing that Sun Direct TV was bringing MPEG-4 satellite service to India, state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has announced that Mumbai residents can now get entertained via IPTV. Additionally, the outfit is talking with BSNL to take IPTV to more cities in the nation, and it will be charging Rs 499 per month without any extra fee for the set-top-box. Best of all, MTNL is mulling the idea of providing two undisclosed HD channels in Delhi and Mumbai, though we're not sure when it would launch said content if the idea gets the all important thumbs-up.

While DirecTV rolls out plans to migrate some of its customers to MPEG-4, Sun Direct TV is giving around 40 million homes in southern India such service right now. By incorporating Harmonic's video delivery solutions, it has become the first carrier in India to offer up MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) direct-to-home broadcast service. As it stands, 120 standard-definition channels are currently available to subscribers, but the operator is planning to add an undisclosed amount of HD channels "in the near future."

We know, Bollywood already has a high-definition format of choice, but given that HD VMD isn't apt to catch on anytime soon, we'd say choosing Blu-ray as a backup is a fairly intelligent move. According to numerous reports and a product page on Amazon, Om Shanti Om will be making the leap to BD next week (January 22nd), and while absolutely nothing is known about special features, audio tracks, etc., it can be pre-ordered as we speak for just under $17. 'Course, it remains to be seen if the whole of Bollywood bolts in Blu's direction -- or if a substantial amount of viewers here in America even notice.

[Via Blu-ray, thanks Bhargav N.]

In what's believed to be an Australian first, the Twenty20 matchup between Australia and India is slated to be aired in 1080i. The event, which will occur on February 1, 2008 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, will be shot and broadcast in high-definition on Australia's Nine Network. The announcement is coming in the midst of competition between Seven, Nine and Ten to ramp up HD offerings, as Ten is already planning to broadcast every single 2008 AFL (Australian Football League) contest in HD while Seven aims to show the Beijing Olympics in 1080i. Meanwhile, we Americans will be gearing up for Super Bowl XLII.

We've seen a number of US hotel developments including those four delightful letters (that would be HDTV, for the uninitiated), but now a pair of options in India should enable those traveling to Chennai and Bangalore to enjoy such high-resolution niceties. aloft hotels has recently announced plans to partner up with Urbanedge Hotels Private Limited to open up a hotel in the two aforementioned areas, both of which will supposedly open in 2010. aloft Chennai is slated to feature 140 guest rooms while aloft Bangalore will include 170, and both locations will tout WiFi and the ability to connect cellphones, DAPs and other gadgetry to an unspecified "large flat-panel HDTV." Sounds like a visit is in order in just a few years, no?

[Image courtesy of Hotel-Online]

In quite an interesting development, California's own Marshall Media has teamed up with a leading telecommunications company in Asia in order to deliver HD "American infotainment" to broadband customers in India. More specifically, Marshall Media will dish out content such as its own "Road to the American Dream" alongside other programs that cover informative topics (i.e. healthcare seminars) and comedies. Notably, the high-definition media will be delivered using a "video-on-demand digital streaming system," and at least initially, it will require Windows Media Player for playback. Marshall Media is also toying with the idea of providing "live HD broadcasting for various types of events, with the help of VSNL's INMARSAT satellite communications services" in the future, but for now, we're still left without a clue as to when the service will actually launch and how much coin it'll demand.

The digital broadcasting changeover continues worldwide, this time it's India's national broadcaster, Prasar Bharati planning to introduce HDTV by 2010, and go all-digital by 2015. The target event is the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, while other nations focus on readying themselves for the Olympics or World Cup. The report indicates the country's information & broadcasting ministry is already behind in phase one of its digitization plans, but hopefully they'll have things ready in the next 1050 days.

Despite the fact that Mojo is already vying for male eyes, the independently operated MavTV is hoping that a 100-percent HD flavor of its programming will steal a few of those pupils in 2008. The network is planning on dishing its HD feed to some 55 US markets, as well as select areas in Australia, New Zealand, and India, and will offer up a mixture of "original sports, gaming programming, and general content related to the male demographic." Unfortunately, we've no timeframe to go by aside from Q1 of next year, but you won't find us complaining about yet another purely high-definition channel coming along to take on the competition.

We know who Hitachi is. Chances are you do too. The big dogs at Hitachi want to make sure everyone in India does too. They are rolling out a large marketing campaign to promote its LCD and plasma line. India is growing very fast and Hitachi wants a piece of it. They are aiming for a 20% market share of the high-end LCDs and plasmas. They currently enjoy a 17% market share but who doesn't want more? Along with the marketing stuff, Hitachi plans on supporting this effort with increasing their product line that will include their DVD camcorders by years end.