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National Geographic launching Nat Geo Wild HD

by Darren Murph posted Mar 27th 2009 at 2:33PM


Listen up, nature lovers -- you should seriously consider moving to the UK. We're hearing that National Geographic is gearing up to exclusively launch Nat Geo Wild HD on the Sky platform on April 1st, and it's reportedly being done as a response to growing demand (and growing ratings) for the SD version of Nat Geo Wild. Launch programs on the new channel will include Blue Whale Odyssey, Darwin's Lost Voyage and the second series of Strange Days on Planet Earth, narrated by Hollywood actor Ed Norton, and yes, the content will indeed be made available from day one on Sky Anytime, the operator's video-on-demand service.

National Geographic HD coming to Russia on October 1st

by Darren Murph posted Sep 18th 2008 at 11:19PM


National Geographic HD has been making the rounds of late, so it's not too shocking to hear that Russia is next on its hit list. Starting on October 1st, National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) will launch NatGeo HD on the AKADO-Stolitsa network, which promises viewers its top-rated programs in stunning HD resolution and 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound. So, NatGeo -- where next?

Antenna Hugria launches high-def packs in Hungary, Olympics are a go

by Darren Murph posted Jul 13th 2008 at 11:47PM


Although Hungarians have tasted HD in their homeland before, we're pretty sure having a full platter is much preferred. National broadcaster Antenna Hugária has just announced that it will be launching HDTV services via its Antenna Digital cable platform at the close of this month. Reportedly, the service will be available initially in Budapest and surrounding locales, though we aren't told if plans are in place to spread it elsewhere. Two new packages are slated to become available, the first of which includes National Geographic HD, Eurosport HD and m2; as for the second, you'll find HBO HD. Better still, those who subscribe to m2 HD will already have a ticket to the televised version of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing (in HD, of course). Prospective consumers will be asked to upgrade to an HD-capable set-top-box as well as hand over HU 990 per month ($6.16) for the first HD tier and HU 799 per month ($5.50) for HBO HD.

The next Planet Earth? National Geographic premieres Earth: The Biography tonight

by Richard Lawler posted Jul 13th 2008 at 12:19PM

We've felt an odd void for nature programming on our HDTV, so National Geographic's Earth: The Biography series comes at an excellent time. As usual, high definition makes the seven continent journey pop, starting off tonight with an episode on volcanoes, followed immediately by a second focusing on ice. We don't have to tell you how great an experience Planet Earth was (and the real sequel isn't due til 2012), so we don't recommend missing any part of this three night event.

[Via HeraldNet]

MEASAT inks deal to get National Geographic HD in Asia-Pacific

by Darren Murph posted Jun 23rd 2008 at 7:44AM


National Geographic HD has been on the international warpath of late, blazing trails to Austria / Switzerland, India, Germany and Sweden. Now, we can add a few more foreign locales to that list. MEASAT Satellite Systems has just landed an agreement with National Geographic Channel Asia that will enable Nat Geo HD and two other SD channels (National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild) to be "distributed on a MEASAT -operated satellite to pay-TV operators across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa." The trio of channels will be distributed via the MEASAT-3 satellite, though it wasn't specifically stated when any of them would go live.

YouSee / Com Hem expand HD lineups abroad

by Darren Murph posted May 27th 2008 at 7:15AM

Despite the lingering feeling that Europe just isn't digging HD, two major cable providers across the pond have just added a dash of high-def to their lineups. Up first is Danish carrier YouSee, which has introduced Eurosport HD just as the French Open Tennis championships got underway. Next up is Sweden's own Com Hem, which has inserted Eurosport HD and National Geographic HD into its HD tier. There's no word on future expansion for either operator, but we're thrilled to see progress being made -- even if it's relatively minor.

Read - YouSee expansion
Read - Com Hem expansion

National Geographic Channel bringing 4 networks to India

by Darren Murph posted May 23rd 2008 at 5:40PM


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]

Portugal's ZON intros ZON BOX HD DVR

by Darren Murph posted May 14th 2008 at 3:11AM


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.

National Geographic HD goes live in Austria and Switzerland

by Darren Murph posted May 13th 2008 at 9:30AM


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.

National Geographic HD and MHD headed to Germany

by Darren Murph posted May 12th 2008 at 9:23AM


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

National Geographic announces new series, wants to "move aggressively" into VOD

by Darren Murph posted Mar 11th 2008 at 11:48PM


For avid fans of National Geographic HD, you've now got quite a few more reasons to keep on watching. Aside from upgrading its website with new videos and behind-the-scenes footage, Nat Geo will soon be launching Locked In -- which "provides a look inside a Georgia prison with some of the country's most hardened criminals" -- and Who Knew? with Marshall Brain. Additionally, the popular Dog Whisperer will be making a return, and a number of specials including Herod's Lost Tomb, Secret Service Files, On Board Air Force One and Drain the Ocean are all slated to appear within a year or so from now. Furthermore, it looks as if the network is aiming to "move aggressively into VOD," as it hopes to have the service in 40 million homes over the next year while delivering content in HD to 20 million domiciles.

National Geographic lines up with Blu-ray

by Steven Kim posted Jan 31st 2008 at 9:27AM

National Geographic goes Blu-ray exclusiveNational Geographic is turning away from HD DVD and moving to Blu-ray only distribution, beginning with the release of "Sharkwater" in April. It's not a surprising move, as National Geographic is distributed by Warner; this leaves BBC as the last holdout from the Warner family to declare its love for Blu-ray. As excited as we'd like to get about a flood of National Geographic releases (they do have some great content!), the track record for the golden rectangle brand is pretty poor: the "Arctic Tale" special was in HD DVD and "Relentless Enemies" was available in both HD formats. Plus, April is so far away in format war time! Still, here's to hoping that expert assurances that an end to the format war is at hand will spur National Geographic to make with the HD releases!

Time Warner Cable adds trio of new HD channels in Raleigh area

by Darren Murph posted Dec 27th 2007 at 4:24AM

Time Warner Cable (partly owned by Time Warner, parent company of AOL, which owns Engadget) has historically been a bit slow to add channels in the Raleigh area, but those situated in the Triangle area of North Carolina now have three additional HD options to enjoy over the break. As of now, TWC customers in and around Raleigh have access to National Geographic HD, HGTV HD and Food Network HD, which can be located on channels 279, 277 and 278, respectively. Also of note, the trifecta is broadcasting now to Wilmington customers as well on channels 968, 966 and 967.

Insight cable customers get six new HD channels, NFL Network included

by Darren Murph posted Dec 8th 2007 at 11:12AM

Over a year after Insight Communications launched its InsightDigital 2.0 service and threw in a trio of HD channels to boot, the cable company is now giving its loyal customers five more high-definition options along with the Digital 3.0 upgrade. Reportedly, users can now tune into Discovery, Animal Planet, The Learning Channel (TLC), TBS, National Geographic and yes, even the NFL Network in glorious HD. The Digital 3.0 package will automatically be available to digital subscribers at no extra cost, but it should be noted that Insight will raise prices in January. Additionally, the operator has nearly doubled its on-demand library and includes VOD channels for HOB, Starz, Showtime, Cinemax and The Movie Channel, but we're still left with no word on any HD VOD plans.

National Geographic grabs up more HD content

by Steven Kim posted Sep 23rd 2007 at 9:47AM

National Geographic logoNational Geographic's Digital Motion unit, which is essentially the digital media distribution arm of National Geographic, has just given its HD materials a boost of more than 170 hours of content. The bump comes from a combination of acquisition and licensing deals. Amongst the HD footage are: sky footage from Bernd Pröschol; 70 hours of underwater footage from Pawel Achtel; 12 hours taken from "more than 10,0000 scenes around the world" from BlackLight Films; more than 60 hours of natural vistas and time-lapse images from Glusic; and 13 hours of nature and cultural film from J Michael Media. No word on when we can expect to see the new goodies showing up in National Geographic content, though.




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