DIRECTV National Geographic HD

SOURCE: TVPredictions.com; 03.06.07

‘Washington, D.C.(March 6, 2007) — DIRECTV today said it has not set a launch date for National Geographic HD.

Over the weekend, the satcaster raised prospects that it would soon add the high-def channel when it posted an upcoming NG HD episode on its Interactive Programming Guide (IPG) at channel 77.

The episode, called In the Womb, finally aired this morning shortly after 2 a.m. ET.

However, DIRECTV spokesman Robert Mercer told TVPredictions.com today that the episode was a “sneak peek of marquee HD programming that we’re offering customers periodically throughout the year.”

DIRECTV plans later this year to offer 100 national high-def channels after it launches at least one new satellite; it now carries around 10 national HD channels due to limited satellite space.

Mercer said DIRECTV will add National Geographic HD later in the year but did not provide a launch date.

“NGC HD ranks high on everyone’s favorite HD programming list so we’re offering a taste to our customers,” Mercer said.

It’s unclear when DIRECTV will air the next NG HD episode.

“We are planning to air more NGC HD programming depending on available capacity. We are looking at more ’sneak peek’ programming,” Mercer said.’

MLB Exclusively on DIRECTV

SOURCE: SkyReport.com; 03.05.07

‘Although nothing officially has been announced about DIRECTV landing an exclusive deal with Major League Baseball for its out-of-market programming package, company officials are saying that the satellite version of baseball will be better than it has ever been on other carriers. In a letter addressed to Federal Communications Commission Media Bureau Chief Monica Shah Desai, DIRECTV CEO Chase Cary said the agency has nothing to fear over the proposed deal because consumers will be the winners in the end.

DIRECTV’s rumored deal for MLB’s Extra Innings package has attracted heated criticism from law makers, media observers and baseball fans worried their ability to watch baseball will be greatly diminished if the deal goes through. But in his letter, Carey said the satcaster’s agreement with the league “is going to be a big win for consumers and is consistent with Congress’s and the FCC’s pro-competitive policies.”

Carey compared the company’s plans with Extra Innings to what it has done in the past with the NFL Sunday Ticket and NASCAR Hotpass. The exec said consumers will get a better product with more features, and “more people will choose to subscribe to Extra Innings on DIRECTV alone than when the product was available on cable nationwide.”

According to Carey, it was baseball who approached pay-TV providers to negotiate over exclusive carriage of its Extra Innings and only DIRECTV showed interest at a level that satisfied the league - carrying MLB’s new The Baseball Channel in the future. Also part of the deal means that The Baseball Channel remains available to DISH Network, cable and other providers.

Another point Carey contends is that allowing the broadband-less DIRECTV to have exclusive rights to Extra Innings will “help stem the flow of subscribers returning to cable in order to purchase the triple-play of voice, video and data… This is the sort of development Congress and the Commission should welcome” because it is “entirely consistent” with the groups’ desire to promote competition.

The letter goes on to say that the only real barriers to cable customers who would want to switch to DIRECTV for the programming is “imposed by cable” itself. Carey said the industry penalizes its customers by increasing internet service rates if the sub cancels their video service, and theoretically subs could watch games on MLB.com if cable didn’t prohibit a direct connection between the internet and the set-top box.’

DIRECTV’s Caribbean Channels

HYPE TV, exclusively from DIRECTV gives you an outlet to get connected to Caribbean culture!

HYPE TV is the number one television choice for young people with a passion for all things Caribbean. Based in Kingston, Jamaica, HYPE TV delivers culturally-relevant music and entertainment that appeals to people with ties to the Caribbean nations, as well as music aficionados and culture-seekers from around the globe. HYPE TV reflects the energy and imagination of one of the most exhilarating parts of the world.

Comcast Cable Viewers May Lose Fox HD

SOURCE - tvpredictions.com, February 28, 2007

‘Washington, D.C. (February 28, 2007) — At midnight tonight, Comcast subscribers in Richmond, Virginia may lose their Fox standard and High-Definition channels.

Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns the Fox affiliate WRLH-TV in Richmond, is demanding that Comcast pay for the station’s signals. But the two sides can not agree on terms and the current carriage agreement will end at midnight tonight.

Similar battles between local stations and TV providers are taking place in several cities across the nation, leading to millions of people being unable to watch local channels in high-def.

Comcast has approximately 250,000 subscribers in the Richmond area. However, the cable operator serves approximately three million people in Sinclair markets nationwide so the Richmond impasse could impact other cites as well if the two companies can not reach an agreement.

Comcast’s Sinclair markets include: Richmond, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Nashville.

A Fox cable blackout would upset many with the network now airing the latest season of the smash hit American Idol. Comcast subscribers could get the Fox SD and HD signals with an antenna; the high-def signals, however, will require a high-def tuner as well.

Comcast told the Richmond Times Dispatch that it will try to “resolve the situation without impact on customers.”

Cable operators generally believe they should not have to pay for the local station’s signals because they are available for free via off-air antennas.

Bill Lane, general manager at the Fox station in Richmond, said Sinclair is “doing everything that we think is fair and just to see that happen.”‘

DIRECTV’s NCAA Mega March Madness Selection Sunday

NCAA Mega March Madness - A 20-day tournament, has become one of the United States’ most prominent sports events!

Selection Sunday is this Sunday March 4, 2007.

Selection Sunday is when the 65 participating teams are announced by the selection committee. The teams are seeded from 1 to 16 in 4 regional groupings around the country. The eventual winners of the four regions meet in the Final Four in a predetermined location. The four seeds play out the tournament until the National Champion if crowned.

In 1999, DIRECTV began broadcasting all games otherwise not shown on local television with its Mega March Madness premium package. DIRECTV gives you up to 37 NCAA live tournament games from outside your region. DIRECTV Offers:

* HD Games - Selected MEGA MARCH MADNESS games are available in HD.
* MEGA MARCH MADNESS Game Mix - Watch up to 3 games at once, all on a single screen.
* Interactive Tournament Bracket - Select and enter your own bracket picks and track how well their doing as the Tournament unravels.
* Enhanced Games - Bring up the on-screen L-wrap application on all four game channels. The L-wrap featuring real time game clocks and scores from live games and extra scoring summaries from current round games.. You can do all of this without missing any of the action from the game you’re currently watching.
* MEGA MARCH MADNESS Short Cuts - Commercial-free recaps of all 63 tournament games in 20 minutes or less. Short Cuts will not air during live games.

Order NCAA Mega March Madness today!

2007 Cricket World Cup - DIRECTV

The 2007 Cricket World Cup will be hosted by the West Indies from March 13 to April 28, 2007. There will be a total of fifty one matches played this year, which is three fewer than at the 2003 World Cup, despite the two extra teams taking part. It will be contested by 16 nations divided into 4 groups of 4 teams. The top two teams from each group will then compete in a “Super 8″ format, similar to the previous “Super 6″ format, from which the semi-finalists will be decided. The Official Song for this World Cup is “The Game of Love and Unity” by Jamaican-born Shaggy, Barbarian entertainer Rupee and Trinidadian Faye-Ann Lyons.

The Opening Ceremony will be on March 11.

Teams Playing in the 2007 Cricket World Cup:

Group A - St Kitts & Nevis, Australia (1), South Africa (5), cotland (12), Holland (16)

Group B -Trinidad & Tobago, Sri Lanka (2), India (8), Bangladesh (11), Bermuda (15)

Group C - St. Lucia, New Zealand (3), England (7), Kenya (10), Canada (14)

Group D - Jamaica, Pakistan (4), West Indies (6), Zimbabwe (9), Ireland (13)