Coming right back is DirecTV, just a few days after activating HD locals in New York and Nebraska comes word that Johnstown-Altoona, PA, Chattanooga, TN and Augusta, GA are the latest in its 44 planned local rollouts this summer/fall. Better hurry DirecTV, the days are already getting shorter. Beyond the read links is the list of newly-added local networks, proceed with caution, or reckless abandon, it's pretty much the same to us either way.

Read - Johnstown-Altoona, Pa
Read - Chattanooga, Tenn
Read - Augusta, Ga

No surprises here, but we figured you'd be interested in knowing that DirecTV is indeed keeping its promise of rolling out HD locals in a few new markets this summer. According to an attentive local in Rochester, New York, high-def locals have been fired up in his area, and according to official verbiage from the satcaster, Lincoln, NE can say the same. With 44 DMAs on tap, we suspect this will be the first two in a long, long list that will unfold as the months progress.

[Thanks, Jim]

Not quite a month after DISH Network unveiled its summer / fall HD locals, DirecTV is continuing to excite by announcing its next 44 markets that will receive HD locals. According to the company, it will be providing local HD broadcasts in 121 cities by the end of 2008, which will reportedly represent 88-percent of US TV households. Just after 30 some-odd new HD channels go live on August 14th, it will begin rolling out HD locals to cities like Augusta, GA, Baton Rouge, LA, Boise, ID, Chattanooga, TN and El Paso, TX. There are 39 more markets to scan through in the read link -- here's to hoping your locale is listed!

We'll admit, DISH Network's latest press release isn't all that thrilling for folks outside of Beaumont / Port Arthur, Texas, but it's entirely better to see something like this rather than another funeral invite for its latest satellite. DISH has just lit up HD locals in the aforesaid area, simultaneously putting another check mark on its summer rollout list and giving everyone else hope that they'll be next. Yeehaw!

So we've invaded your personal space before by asking how many options you have for HD programming, and we've also wondered about the primary medium of delivery, but this week's question hovers around the tried-and-true antenna. We're simply curious to know how many of you out there still rely on OTA programming for some or all of your HDTV consumption? Are there enough locals to keep you from shelling out to a pay-TV provider every month? Do you supplement your service with OTA offerings? Or do you tune into OTA locals just because they look better than what's delivered via cable? Deposit your vote below.

[Image courtesy of HMSTV]

As our eagle-eyed tipster Doug so eloquently put it, we too aren't sure how this one got overlooked. In the midst of LIN TV hammering out deals with DirecTV, Charter, SuddenLink and DISH Network, this particular deal managed to slip through the cracks. Nevertheless, the media company has indeed entered into an agreement with Comcast to keep locals in 15 markets on the air. For specifics on which markets we're referring to, check out the second paragraph in the read link.

[Thanks, Doug]

Whoa, that was speedy. Just hours after the retransmission agreement between LIN TV and DirecTV was made public, hordes of subscribers are jumping for joy. Why all the leaping, you ask? Because many of the channels in the pact are already airing in gorgeous HD around the country. Flip on your tele and let us know if you're so lucky.

[Thanks, Rob]

Look out, DISH Network subscribers -- the summertime HD locals rollout is officially on. Precisely a week after we spotted the latest batch of locales on DISH's short list to receive ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX in high-def, along comes word that Buffalo, New York has already been tapped. Per usual, there's no word on what markets will be selected next, but you can rest assured that you'll know just as soon as we do.

Considering that Ft. Meyers, Florida was scheduled to have its HD locals flipped on via DISH Network back in April, we can imagine that residents are slightly perturbed about the wait. Nevertheless, folks looking for any possible reason to sneak inside and escape the record-setting heat can finally celebrate the addition of high-def locals in Naples and Ft. Myers. There's no word on which channels are being added, so we'll go ahead and assume that FOX, CBS, ABC and NBC stations are all showing now in beautiful high-definition. Let us know if anything changes, though.

This day last week, DISH Network brought HD locals to Norfolk, Virginia. Today, it's doing the same for Hartford-New Haven, Connecticut and Portland-Auburn, Maine. If you'll recall, neither of these two markets were included on DISH's master list of Spring rollouts, but for whatever reason, it's showing New England some serious love. No mention is made of what channels are being made available, so we'll cautiously assume that the Big Four (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX) will be ready for viewing in glorious high-def.

Just as we had heard, DISH Network has indeed thrown HD locals into the mix for eight more markets. As of today, subscribers in Burlington - Plattsburgh, Vermont, Greensboro - High Point - Winston Salem, North Carolina, Greenville - Spartanburg - Asheville - Anderson, South Carolina, Huntsville - Decatur, Alabama, Jackson, Mississippi, Knoxville, Tennessee, Mobile - Pensacola (Ft. Walton Beach), Alabama and Providence - New Bedford, Rhode Island can tune into at least three of the big four national broadcast stations. If your city isn't on this list, yet it's squarely placed on this one, we'd say you're one step closer to joining the in-crowd.

Unfortunately for folks hoping to see U-verse spreading to another area, that's not the case today -- however, subscribers in select parts of Connecticut are being gifted with a couple of new HD channels sure to bring a smile to their faces. As of today, AT&T is adding WCTX HD (MyNetworkTV), WNET HD (PBS) and WTXX HD (The CW) to the U-verse lineup in the New Haven and Hartford areas. Additionally, WPIX HD (CW-NYC) and WWOR HD (MyNetworkTV-NYC) are said to be hitting other areas of Fairfield County. Oh, and for those considering the switch, picking up the nearly 50 HD channels on U-verse still costs just $10 a month.

Read - AT&T U-verse TV Expands Local HD Channel Lineup in New Haven, Hartford
Read - AT&T U-verse TV Expands Local HD Channel Lineup in Fairfield County

As enthralled as we are to see new HD channels arrive in varying parts of the world, it's equally depressing to hear when any vanish. Nevertheless, we're looking at yet another classic battle between station and carrier in Topeka, Kansas, as the region's CBS affiliate (WIBW-TV) is threatening to remove its analog and digital HD signals from Cox unless it ponies up in a hurry. Needless to say, WIBW feels that it's not being compensated fairly from Cox for its retransmission of signals, and unless the two parties strike a deal before midnight on Friday, citizens in the area will have to bust out the antenna (or switch to satellite) to catch the looming March Madness. So, what exactly is WIBW asking for? A penny a day for each Cox subscriber.

Just a week after DirecTV enabled subscribers in Cedar Rapids / Waterloo, IA, Wichita, KS and Louisville, KY to celebrate by gifting them with HD locals, the satellite provider is now showing its love for Omaha, Nebraska. Effective immediately, customers in the The Cornhusker State can now check out KETV / ABC, KMTV / CBS, KPTM / FOX, WOWT / NBC and KXVO / The CW in beautiful high-definition. For those keeping count, the addition of Omaha brings the grand total of cities that DTV is blanketing with HD locals to 77, and just as soon as this whole D11 launch is completed, we fully expect that number to increase substantially.

It's no secret that DirecTV has been adding HD locals at a pleasantly quick rate of late, but apparently, it's not even close to being finished. According to a user in Louisville, Kentucky, DTV has just recently flipped the switch on locals in high-definition, and direct word from yet another subscriber in the Cedar Rapids / Waterloo, Iowa area confirms that he too is receiving CBS, NBC and FOX in HD (though ABC is strangely absent). Furthermore, we're hearing rumblings that customers in Wichita / Hutchinson, Kansas, Paducah, Kentucky and Cape Girardeau, Missouri should join the HD local camp any day now (like today), while those parked in Omaha and Lincoln / Hastings, Nebraska can expect 'em on February 13th and early May, respectively. If we just rung your bell, hit us up in comments below to confirm or deny, would ya?

[Thanks, Bryan and Rod]