HDNet will soon fade off into the  sunset, as AXS TV is replacing the all high definition channel.  The deal brings Ryan Seacrest into the fold, as the American Idol host will team with HDNet owner Mark Cuban.  So what will new AXS TV (pronounced “Access TV”) bring to cable and satellite television audiences?

From early reports the new channel looks to be a different flavor of the E! entertainment network.   The network will rely heavily on partners AEG and Seacreast for content and management direction, and will feature lifestyle programming along with live concerts and coverage of red carpet events.  While the E! channel focuses on TV and movie celebrities, AXS TV seems to be looking to the music world for content.

A few HDNet shows will carry over to AXS TV, including HDNet Fights, Inside MMA, and Dan Rather Reports.

HDNet was launched in 2002, when HD channels were few and far between.  In recent years, the channel has morphed primarily into a men’s interest channel, as MMA content makes up a large part of the programming lineup.  HDNet has also been dropped from major cable providers like Time Warner, Bright House, RCN and Mediacom in the last few years, meaning fewer viewers nationally for the HD channel.

As part of the new agreement, AXS TV will find a wider audience on DISH Network.  The satellite television company agreed to carry AXS on its America’s Top 120 programming package, meaning more viewers nationally.   With the DISH agreement, AXS TV expects to be in 35 million homes at the launch during summer 2012.

Will AXS TV be a success in the competitive cable environment?  Securing new carriage deals with cable providers the dropped HDNet will be a must if the network expects to be a long term survivor.

Over the past three years, satellite TV companies Dish Network and DIRECTV have taken jabs at each other over the total number of HD channels carried. Dish Network initially held the lead, then DIRECTV rolled out dozens of HD channels in 2007. DIRECTV rode the HD wave until the middle of 2009, when Dish Network once again gained the HD satellite TV lead. But while this happened, another player actually passed both DIRECTV and Dish Network in the number of real HD channels. In 2010, the most high definition can actually be found with Verizon Fios HD.

Unfortunately, many in the United States do not currently have Fios TV as a choice. In fact, many may never have Fios HD as it is a regional product and is mainly available in the highly populated, urban and suburban areas served by Verizon. But if you are one of the lucky ones, why should you strongly consider the HD offer from Verizon Fios?

Verizon Fios HD currently offers 117 high definition channels, of which 44 are premium movie channels. Unlike Dish Network and DIRECTV, Verizon Fios doesn’t pad their HD count by adding in all of pay per view HD channels. If you like the premium movie channels like HBO, Cinemax, and Starz, you will find almost all of these in HD with Fios TV. Fios HD channels counts are also the same in every area where you can get the Verizon TV service. Many cable companies like Comcast and Time Warner have differing HD channel counts depending on if network upgrades have been done.

In addition, Verizon Fios also has a robust video on demand setup, with 400 or more HD choices each month. Overall, if you have one of the higher tier Fios TV packages, you will have more than 500 HD choices at any given time if you count the HD channels and HD VOD choices available.

Now you won’t get 117 Fios HD channels unless you subscribe to everything Verizon offers, so here is a breakdown of the high definition channel count for each package.

Fios TV Prime HD has 40 HD channels, including names like ESPN HD, ABC Family HD and Animal Planet.

Fios TV Extreme HD has more than 65 HD channels. Additional hi def channels here are MLB Network HD and the Smithsonian channel HD.

Fios Ultimate HD has more than 90 HD channels including eight different Showtime HD feeds.

You can also get some of the premium sports packages in HD with Fios, including MLB Extra Innings, NHL Center Ice, and the NBA League pass. Not all games will be in high definition though, it often depends on the source broadcasting these games.

So if you have cable or satellite TV and the HD content you want just isn’t there, take a hard look at Verizon Fios HD if it is available to you. You might be surprised at the amount of HD content contained in the Verizon Fios package you select.

ESPN 3D will be launching in June of this year, as the premium sports channel moves in on that latest trend in home entertainment: 3D HDTV.

No carrier agreements have been announced yet, but DIRECTV, Dish Network, and all of the major cable TV players will no doubt be lining up to offer ESPN 3-D.  ESPN announced that they will carry a minimum of 85 live sporting events in 2010, and will also broadcast the 2011 BCS National Championship Game in 3D.  At this time, it does not look like ESPN 3D will be a 24 hour a day channel.

ESPN 3D is scheduled to debut at the World Cup soccer tournament, which is being held in South Africa starting later this year.   The match  between host country South Africa and Mexico will be the first live event broadcast on ESPN 3D, marking the kickoff of the World Cup on June 11th, 2010.  Up to 25 World Cup matches will be shown on ESPN 3-D to get things rolling.  Other events scheduled to be broadcast in 3D include the Summer X games and next season’s college football and basketball schedule.  One hit with fans would be seeing NFL football in 3D, but ESPN made no mention of broadcasting the 2010 Monday Night Football season in 3D.

The announcement comes on the heels of DIRECTV’s rumored 3D HD channel.  While DIRECTV has yet to confirm the launch of the 3D channel, internet blogs have pointed to the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show as the stage where 3-D news will be made.  The satellite TV company recently launched DIRECTV 12 into orbit, which will allow them to significantly expand their HD capacity.  ESPN 3D may be one of new options available to subscribers once the satellite becomes operational in the 2nd quarter of 2010.

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show, set to start on Thursday, January 7th is setting up to be dominated by 3D TV products.  Manufacturers of new 3D ready TV’s such as Panasonic and Sony will follow in the steps of Mitsubishi, who already has 3D compatible HDTV’s on the market.  If 3D TV hits big, cable and satellite companies alike will be scrambling to find the bandwidth needed to carry 3D HD signals to the consumer.

The satellite TV battle between DISH Network and Direct TV was stepped up another notch today, as DISH Network said they will have 150 HD channels by year-end 2008.

DISH Network seems to be in an all-out attack on the HD front.  While this is certainly good for consumers craving more HD content, it seems DISH has started to really stretch the truth to put it mildly in their attempt to outdo Direct TV.  More on that later.

First the news on DISH Network’s latest expansion.  After previously promising 17 additional HD channels in Mid-July, which will be added August 1^st, DISH Network today announced they would be expanding to 150 national HD channels by year-end.

DISH Network recently enjoyed a successful satellite launch, as the Echostar 11 will soon become operational and will allow DISH Network to expand its HD offerings.

The latest announcement comes on the heels of the Direct TV announcement that they will expand to 130 HD channels in mid-August.  That proclamation, along with their statement that they will soon have capacity for 150 HD channels took the shine of DISH Network’s 100 channel announcement.

DISH Network initially took the lead in HD programming in late 2006 and into 2007, but dropped the ball after that.  Direct TV expanded their HD content through the end of 2007, leaving DISH far behind.  Charlie Ergen, DISH Network CEO admitted as much on conference calls with Wall Street analysts, praising DirecTV for their execution in the HD market.  After about a year of extremely low subscriber growth, DISH Network is fighting back hard.

DirecTV has pushed both cable companies and DISH Network around in the HD marketplace.  But with DISH Network’s recent announcement of their Turbo HD packages, and their expansion of HD service, it looks like they have finally decided to follow the same path as DirecTV.  Rather than position their offerings as a value oriented television provider, DISH Network is moving toward the position as a premium provider.

The strategy has worked well for Direct TV.  Under the leadership of CEO Chase Carey, Direct TV has reduced customer churn and improved revenue per subscriber numbers, all while the US economy has entered a soft spot.  The latest foray by DISH Network shows they intend to start down the same path.

In conjunction with their Turbo HD packages, DISH Network is also extensively promoting its move to deploy HD content in the highest resolution possible.  DISH claims that via a new “proprietary system upgrade” set-top HD DVR devices will now display content in higher resolution.  Customers with MPEG-4 HD DVR receivers will be able to display HD content in 1080p, the highest resolution possible for 1080p compatible HDTV sets.  Sounds like a lot of technical mumbo jumbo, we will have to wait to see how it looks to see if what DISH Network is promising makes any real difference.

Earlier I mentioned how DISH Network is really starting to stretch the truth (fib or lie anyone?) is being promoted in this press release.  Their latest, recapping all of their HD moves, says they now have 114 national HD channels.  Their previous release announced they would have 100 HD channels.  Where did the 14 additional channels come from?

According to tvpredictions.com, DISH Network is now claiming their video-on-demand channels available in HD as channels.  Fairly ridiculous and creeping up on the fibbing scale close to Comcast’s claim earlier this year that they are the leader in HD because they will have “1000 HD Choices.”

DIRECTV, not to be outdone by DISH Network’s recent announcement that they would be adding 17 HD channels on August 1^st, fired back with their own HD expansion announcement today.

While more HD is always a good thing, this latest round of HD programming probably won’t really add much to your current channel lineup.

The announcement, made in a press release today, touts the addition on August 14^th of “more than 30 HD channels, bringing the total HD lineup to 130.” If that number is precise, DIRECTV will have to add 35 HD channels, as they currently carry 95. So what exactly will be offered?

The new channels that will be of interest to the widest audience will be:

Showtime Extreme HD

Showtime Showcase HD

Planet Green HD

ABC Family HD

So really only 4 new national HD channels are being added, with two of those being for Showtime subscribers only.

Next up, DIRECTV promises additional HD pay per view channels. No specific numbers were given here, but not really a big deal considering they already have 15 HD PPV channels already.

Finally, DIRECTV says they will be adding 23 Regional Sports Networks in HD 24 hours a day. For most areas, this will mean between one and three additional RSN HD channels, as certain regional sports networks only go to certain areas where the hometown teams compete.

More surprising in this announcement were some of the channels left off of the list. Many DIRECTV customers have been waiting for Travel Channel HD, Fox News HD, WGN HD, and Lifetime Networks in HD. None of these were listed on the release, leaving customers disappointed.

DIRECTV has stated that with the DIRECTV 11 satellite, they will have capacity for up to 150 HD channels, so hopefully some of these and others will be added by year-end. The release also continued on to promote the wide variety of sports programming in HD, including the NFL Sunday Ticket, well of course if you pay for the Superfan add-on. Promises were also made as far as video on demand, as DIRECTV will continue to add HD content to the on-demand lineup.

With many NFL fans getting ready to shell out a few hundred dollars for the DIRECTV Sunday Ticket package, another question awaits, should I pay another $99 for the SuperFan package?

So what exactly is the Superfan package, and why do you need it? Well you don’t need it, its not food, water, or shelter. But as the typical NFL fan, you will probably want it.

The Superfan package is an add-on to the NFL Sunday Ticket package, you can’t buy it all by itself. As mentioned, the stated price is $99, but depending on your negotiating skills, you may be able to get that lowered, or free, or some sort of other credit depending on your history with DIRECTV. Some of the features in the Superfan package include:

NFL Sunday Ticket HD Games- OK this one is certainly a sticking point with a lot of DIRECTV customers who already pay the $9.99 a month HD access fee. The standard Sunday ticket comes in standard definition, and while the network games will mostly be in HD this year, you have to get Superfan to watch the rest of the games in HD.

NFL Sunday Ticket Game Mix- Kind of like sitting in the sportsbook in Las Vegas, with a screen full of monitors in front of you. Up to 8 games at a time are presented all in one screen. Easily switch the audio from your remote control to hear the game you want. The only problem is that the screens can be pretty small when so many games are pushed together in one screen, solve this by going out and buying a bigger HDTV.

NFL Sunday Ticket Red Zone Channel- While a little bit of a roller coaster ride, this channel has become a favorite of fantasy football diehards, and those who hate the endless stream of commercials that continue to bog down NFL games. The Red Zone channel moves you from game to game based on where the action is. Anytime a team is in scoring range, usually within the 20 yard line, this channel takes you to the action. After they score, you are moved on to the next game where a team is threatening. No wasted time on excessive replays, kickoffs, and best of all, commercials.

DIRECTV Supercast- Good for traveling salesmen, I guess. This allows you to stream the games to your PC, anywhere in the world. Also plenty of statistics and scores are found here as well. Probably not one of the top features of the Superfan package.

NFL Short Cuts- A nice feature for fantasy players scouting out new talent. The Short Cuts replay each game without commercial interruption in less than 30 minutes. How do they do that? No commercials, and no downtime, interesting to think that each NFL game contains less than 30 minutes of actual play. These replays start at midnight ET Sunday night and stop at midnight ET on Tuesday.

NFL Sunday Ticket Mobile Highlights- This feature will send clips, stats, and scores to your cell phone.
So those are the highlights. The lowlight of course is the cost. But if you figure the complete cost of the NFL Sunday Ticket plus Superfan is probably about the same as taking the family to one NFL game, you can see why it remains a popular product for DIRECTV.

If you are considering a switch to satellite TV from DISH Network, Comcast, Time Warner, or any other provider, new DIRECTV customers can get four months of free programming when buying the NFL Sunday Ticket package.

Speculation and rumors surrounding the DTVPal continue to make rounds on the internet, as Dish Network and Slingbox have done a poor job in defining the product.  Once known as the Echostar TR-40, the latest information has the DTVPal actually becoming a different product. 

A few reviews of the DTVPal have finally sprung up, and CNET for one seems to like the product.  Finding good, solid information on when the product will be released, and where it will be available is another matter.  Case in point, calls to DISH Network’s customer service center have resulted in differing accounts on when the product will even be available. 

Calls to retailers such as Wal-Mart, Radio Shack, and Best Buy have not resulted in any solid information as to if/when they will even have the product.  Many have no product knowledge at all regarding either the Echostar TR-40 or the DTVPal.  The product is scarce among online retailers as well, with only a few accepting pre-orders, and comments here recently that those who have placed orders have in some cases received e-mails that their order has been cancelled.

Visits to the DTV Pal website don’t fill in the blanks either, other than vague information that the product will begin selling in late June.  According to CNET, the product release date will be today, June 19^th.   The latest news on the DISH Network DTVPal is that it is its own product, so to speak.  The price tag seems to have gone up as well, with the latest speculation having it priced at about $60 per unit.  That compares to the original TR-40 price of about $40.

So what exactly is the deal, as DISH Network and Charlie Ergen promised to offer the TR40 for about $40 at retail when the product was first introduced?  This would make the unit free for those who request a digital conversion government coupon.  Again, nothing solid has been released from DISH Network or Sling Media.

There could actually be two separate models, the DTVPal being released first with more bells and whistles.  DISH Network could sell that model for $60 for as long as demand warrants.  Later, as the February 2009 conversion deadline approaches, they could release the Echostar TR-40.   If it is actually more of a bare bones conversion box, maybe the cost won’t actually cause DISH Network to lose money, as Charlie Ergen said they would when they first released the mode.

Whatever the actual facts are regarding the Echostar TR-40 and the DTVPal, we shall soon find out.  Then we can all start waiting for the Echostar TR-50.

DIRECTV must be on a mission to acquire every golf and tennis fan in America with their continued “Mix” coverage of major events.First it was the Masters Golf tournament, the the French Open Mix, and next will be the Wimbledon Interactive Mix starting later this month on June 23^rd.
Coverage won’t be quiet as extensive as the French Open where DIRECTV offered in the area of 350 hours worth of live tennis matches. This partnership for the premier tennis tournament will have 200 hours of coverage during the first five days of Wimbledon,

The All England Club will once again host the tournament on their fames grass courts. Roger Federer and Ana Ivanovic have each been seeded first, with Federer a heavy favorite to take home his 6^th straight Wimbledon title.
This year’s tournament runs from May 25^th through June 8^th. DIRECTV’s coverage will be heavy during the first 8 days of the tournament, as early round matches will be available like never before.
If you were able to catch any of DIRECTV’s French Open Interactive coverage, you can expect more of the same when it comes to Wimbledon
interactive.

The mix channel features multiple screenshots of up to what is going on live, including six separate screen shots. These may include up to 6 live events at a time, where DIRECTV customers will then be able to control the action via remote control. Viewers can elect to jump to a full-screen of any particular match the want to zoom in on. Additional interactive features will once again be available right through the DIRECTV remote control.

DIRECTV is working with ESPN2 on this year’s Wimbledon coverage. After the first 5 days of action, ESPN2 and NBC will take over with extensive coverage. Overall ESPN2 is promising nearly 100 hours of Wimbledon action.
Features similar to the French Open coverage will be:

Matches On Now A view on the lower part of the screen, with postings of the latest scores of all current matches. DIRECTV customers can then tune-in directly to any available match by pressing “Select” on the remote.

Results – DIRECTV viewers can access real-time scoring of all Wimbledon matches in progress, and see completed match scores. Upcoming match-ups will be accessible, all available without missing any action on the current channel.

So DIRECTV is once again proving to be the choice of the sports fan. With all of the Wimbledon, French Open, Masters, NASCAR Hotpass, and of course NFL Sunday ticket coverage this year, DIRECTV expects to broadcast more than 6,000 hours of interactive sports coverage in 2008.

Chicago Cubs fans across the nation have to be happy with the news from DISH Network; WGN America has been upgraded to HD.

The agreement will allow customers who subscribe to America’s Top 200 HD package and higher to begin receiving WGN America on channel 239 HD. The agreement also puts into place additional local HD in three markets and plans to carry local HD in 19 additional markets covering 23 Tribune group stations.

The three additional markets that will receive local HD upgrades are Seattle station KCPQ-FOX, WPIX-CW in New York City, and KTXL-FOX in Sacramento. The big upgrade, however is WGN based out of Chicago.

One of the original “Superstations” along with TBS out of Atlanta, WGN has been a mainstay along cable systems for years, raising a new generation of Chicago Cub fans, and allowing Chicago natives the opportunity to keep up with the lovable losers.

Previously called Superstation WGN has expanded its sports lineup over the years. The station now also carries many of the cross-town rival Chicago White Sox games as well.

In addition, WGN broadcasts NBA games involving the Chicago Bulls, and will continue to do so in HD.

With the WGN America HD addition, DISH Network now sports over 80 HD channels. Had they not removed the VOOM channel lineup last month, they would be neck and neck with rival Direct TV for total HD channel bragging rights.

Voom Network fired back at DISH Network this week, filing an amended complaint against the satellite television operator.

The complaint, filed in New York, alleges Voom HD will suffer $1 billion in damages due to the sudden removal of all 15 VOOM channels off of DISH Network last month.  The amendment was latched on to a previous suit filed in January.

DISH Network had no comment on the suit, in which VOOM basically claims a breach-of-contract. DISH Network removed the VOOM lineup in May, shortly after adding a batch of national HD channels. The removal has sparked an outcry from a small but vocal group of VOOM fans. Online petitions have sprouted up, along with plenty of threats from DISH Network customers who are looking to possibly switch to satellite rival Direct TV.

Voom HD and DISH Network originally signed a 15 year agreement in 2005. The deal had a $3.25 price per subscriber, per month for those DISH Network subscribers receiving VOOM HD. While many happy VOOM HD customers loved the high quality picture and commercial free entertainment, some had grown tired of the repeats. That was the basis for DISH Network’s decision to drop VOOM.

According to DISH boss Charlie Ergen, the company felt they could provide other channels customers would be more interested in. On DISH Network’s conference call held right after DISH had dropped 10 of the 15 VOOM HD channels, Ergen said:

“We believe we can replace those channels with other channels that have more value for our customers.”

How much longer VOOM can survive is another question. The company’s only other agreement is with Cablevision, and that is set to expire at the end of this month. Interestingly, DISH Network’s sister company Echostar has a partial ownership interest in VOOM HD. The fact that DISH Network and Charlie Ergen decided to drop the lineup shows they are more interested in saving money on subscriber fees now, than a insuring the success of VOOM HD.