Not to beat a dead mule or anything, but Verizon has come clean and admitted that those 20-some-odd HD channels spotted yesterday in Fort Wayne, Indiana are actually supposed to be there. You know, as if to say some engineer didn't accidentally pull a magic lever. Reportedly, 15 new high-def stations are live as we speak in the aforesaid city with seven more due to hit soon, but we've heard reports that the whole lot was flipped on in select areas. Anywho, the carrier has promised to roll the newcomers out to each of its service markets in the near future, though it's anyone's guess as to which locale will claim next. The full list of new HD channels are posted in the read link.

It's turning into quite the weekend for lineup changes. Shortly after Bright House Networks added a few high-def options to the EPG in Tampa Bay, we've received word from the great city of Indianapolis that a couple of fresh ones just appeared there as well. The two in question are Discovery HD (732) and Animal Planet HD (751), both of which should keep you entertained if you decide to spend your 48 hours of leisure kicked back doing absolutely nothing.

[Thanks, Patrick]

Terre Haute, Indiana is home to Sony's only Blu-ray Disc manufacturing facility in the entire United States, and while just north of 1,100 people are employed there now, another 85 will soon be joining the staff as finalized expansion plans are hammered down. The $113 million effort will add to its nearly 1 million-square-foot facility, though we aren't given specifics regarding how many more discs the plant will soon crank out. We hear you can wear funny masks there, though.

Last we checked, South Bend, Indiana wasn't on DISH Network's master list of cities to receive HD locals in April or May, but sure enough, it seems as if the locale will be joining that exclusive club after all. According to a resident, DISH sent out an email informing him that HD locals "were available in his area," and while he's yet to contact the satcaster to verify, it does match up with some lingering reports from earlier this month that South Bend could be launched soon. So, any other locations finding HD locals from DISH right out of the blue?

[Thanks, Josh]

Update: Seems DISH may have pulled a trigger too early here. We'll keep listening to see if South Bend really is one of the next in line to get HD locals. Thanks, Jason!

Unfortunately for those in areas that used to be covered by Insight, it seems that not all of you will be blessed with the full 22 HD channels that were announced for Bloomington, IL. A new report originating from Martinsville, Indiana asserts that programming changes are looming for Comcast subscribers in and around that city. Aside from many SD networks being shuffled around and even dropped entirely, a full dozen high-def channels are slated to land on May 1st. Of course, we can't know just how far these additions will spread from Martinsville, but feel free to jump on past the break for the full list (and cross your fingers come May).

Although Smithville is aiming to offer fiber-based services to much of the Hoosier State within the next couple of years, AT&T isn't waiting around to boost its market share in Indiana. As of this week, legions of residents can now get connected to U-verse -- over 300,000 living units in total. Folks residing in parts of Anderson, Bloomington, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Muncie, Gary, Griffith, Merrillville, Highland, Crown Point, Hammond, Schererville and Dyer now have one more option for fetching content (Big Ten Network and all), and AT&T has already made known its intentions to reach out to more Indiana communities in the future. Ah, the sweet smell of competition.

For an estimated 29,000 Smithville customers in 17 counties in the central, south central and southern part of Indiana, they could soon find themselves smack dab in the middle of a fiber heartland. The aforesaid telco is investing some $90 million to build a fiber-to-the-home network over the next 48 months in order to give rurally located individuals and businesses access to ultra-quick data, voice and video services. The upgrade is so extensive, in fact, that none of Smithville's customers will be relying on copper or hybrid (copper, fiber or coaxial) systems once the build-out is complete. Who needs FiOS TV / U-verse anyway, right Hoosiers?

[Via DSLReports]

On this week's podcast we got down a little bit on oval course racing, but if you want to check out a different take on the theme, tune in to HDNet on April 11th and 12th. For the sixth year, the network will be broadcasting the "Little 500" from Indiana University. It's an oval all right, but the event is all about fixed-gear single-speed bicycles with coaster brakes on a quarter-mile cinder track. No matter whether they're a "cutter" or a "frat boy," riders must use an event-provided bike with no mods and must make switches during the event. Think you were fast on that banana-seat Schwinn (complete with "are you kidding me" toptube-mounted gearshift) as a kid? Think again.


[Image courtesy BikeIcons]

Nary a week after finding that a forthcoming University of Houston residence hall was being erected with U-verse built-in, along comes word that 62 luxury condominiums in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana will be constructed with FiOS pre-installed. Dubbed The Harrison, the aforementioned units are a vital part of the downtown revitalization efforts, and each one promises dedicated underground parking, near-10-foot ceilings and access to an indoor / outdoor roof deck overlooking the nearby ballpark. Units start at around $150,000, and while over 100-percent have already been claimed, folks are still encouraged to place deposits in case anything falls through.

Talk about a war chest! Coming off the Blu-ray win in the format war, Sony has announced plans to invest more than $100 million in its Terre Haute, IN plant. The facility is used for Blu-ray disc production, and Sony is budgeting for at least 65 more workers, $101 million in new equipment and $7.4 million in property improvements. The plant is mostly staffed by hourly workers, but Sony plans on 15 of those 65 positions to be salaried. The old adage about "spending money to make money" is true, and at this point we're not going to bother with asking whether the money was freed up from the format war or not. All we ask is that the increased Blu-ray disc production capacity helps move titles from the Sony archive to store shelves!

Just as expected, Comcast and Insight Communications have wrapped up the so-called "Insight Midwest Transaction." With the completion, Comcast now owns 100-percent of the cable systems serving Illinois customers in Rockford / Dixon, Quincy / Macomb, Springfield, Peoria and Champaign / Urbana as well as Indiana customers in Bloomington, Anderson, and Lafayette / Kokomo. It was also noted that Insight has full ownership of cable systems in Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green and Covington, Kentucky along with those in Evansville, Indiana and Columbus, Ohio. Considering just how much area this deal covers, we've all ideas a reader or two has been affected one way or another -- if that's you, drop us a comment and let us know how things are faring, would you?

For 69,000 cable subscribers in the Greater Lafayette, Indiana area, December 31st will be the last day you tune into cable provided by Insight Communications. As of January 1, 2008, Comcast will be taking over hordes of customers in the Lafayette-Attica-Kokomo markets and surrounding areas, but according to Comcast spokesman Mark Apple, there won't be any "immediate changes." It was noted that no price hikes would be throw in initially, but due to promises of extra HD programming and HD VOD, we can't imagine those bills staying flat for too long. Additionally, Comcast still hasn't worked out a deal to carry the Big Ten Network, which will certainly present a problem considering the proximity of Purdue / Indiana. From the outside looking in, this takeover looks like a mixed bag, but if Comcast finally figures out a way to carry the Big Ten Network and offer up more HD options at a reasonable price, we suppose things would look quite a bit better.