Dish Network added eight new high definition channels today. Normally that would be great news for subscribers, but the satellite TV company is stooping to new lows in how “HD channels” are counted.
According to Multichannel News, the latest Dish Network HD channel count includes 57 video-on-demand titles. Even worse, the new video on demand titles are only available to those who have the new ViP 922 DVR. The much anticipated Slingloaded DVR is just coming to market, so is would be fair to say that only a very small fraction of Dish Network’s 14 million subscribers have the new device.
The Dish Network press release quotes Tom Cullen, executive VP of Sales, Marketing, and Programming for Dish Network. This beauty comes from the release:
“While others repeatedly claim they have the capacity to offer 200 HD channels, only DISH Network has delivered,” said Tom Cullen, executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Programming for DISH Network. “We are pleased to continue to lead the industry in delivering the best movies and entertainment with channels such as EPIX HD.”
The not-so-subtle jab is pointed directly at rival satellite TV company DIRECTV, which has been running ads for months claiming they will have the “capacity” to carry 200 HD channels. DIRECTV has not added many national HD channels over the past 18 months, and has fallen behind Dish Network in high definition channel count.
The actual HD channels added by Dish Network number eight – with the following being lit up today:
EPIX HD
G4 HD
HLN HD
History International HD
Nat Geo Wild HD
ShortsHD
Style HD
Turner Classic Movies HD
Phillip Swann at TV Predicitions wondered about how the addition of 8 new HD channels brought Dish Network over 200 earlier today, and later the Multichannel story confirmed the Dish Network fuzzy math. While satellite and cable television companies have always been playing fast and loose with the number of HD channels they claim to air, the latest Dish Network claim though borders on an outright lie. Dish Network also counts 25 regional sports networks, and 15 full time pay per view channels in their HD count. Expect Dish Network to endure plenty of criticism from both the competition and the public for their so-called 200 HD channel claim.
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Well another plus to DISH Network’s HD is, if you’re a qualified customer you can get HD Free for Life with America’s Top Packages (AT 120, 120+, 200, 250+). I have had DISH for years and now I am a DISH employee. I can also tell you that DIRECTV doesn’t offer HD Free for Life with their lower teir package.