D* 150 HD channels by end of '07... just big talk?

[jeffnebraska]

Two days ago I spoke with a rep from customer retention. As is typical for those reps, she was far more articulate and knowledgeable than the garden variety reps we all hate dealing with whenever we call 1-800-DIRECTV.

She claimed that by the end of 2007, there would be 150 HD channels available through D*. I have no doubt whatsoever that this claim is false. I will absolutely eat my hat if it comes true. However, I was wondering what those in the know are realistically predicting for how the number of HD channels will change over the course of this year.

Since I'm still using an HDTivo (MPEG2), how this plays out will strongly influence whether I make the (seeming) performance sacrifice to get the HR20.

[houskamp]

yep 140 ppv chanels and 10 regular :lol:

[rsonnens]

yep 140 ppv chanels and 10 regular :lol:

I suspect she was talking about all the locals across the US. We need to know what non-locals channels they will be adding.

[harsh]

She claimed that by the end of 2007, there would be 150 HD channels available through D*. If you count empty bandwidth, then it should be true. If you count what channels that will be available to any one subscriber, that's up to DirecTV finding an additional gross of HD channels to carry. I'd be quite surprised if there were more than 75 available national HD channels by the end of next year.

If the HD RSNs go CONUS, it might be a little easier, but they wouldn't be considered as part of the HD package.

[LameLefty]

I suspect she was talking about all the locals across the US. We need to know what non-locals channels they will be adding.

I guarantee you that is NOT what any D* CSR person is saying because their own corporate literature claims 150 national HD channels by late '07, which will correspond with the launches of the DirecTV 10 and 11 MPEG4 satellites.

Now, whether there will be any national HD content to put on them is another matter.

[Jon D]

I suspect she was talking about all the locals across the US. We need to know what non-locals channels they will be adding.

NO. There are already WAY OVER 150 HD locals across the US. They are referring to the added bandwidth provided by the 2 new mpeg 4 satellites to be launched in the spring of next year. They will increase the total CAPACITY to approximately 150 national HD channels and over 1,000 Local HD channels. Naturally there will not be 150 national(cable) channels transmitting a HD signal by then, but DirecTV will have the capacity to carry every single one as they come online.

So. Whatever is available by the end of next year, barring any legal negotiation of carriage terms hangups, DirecTV should have it all.

[patsrule316]

Hmmm, I am guessing:

HBO, Starz, Cinemax, TMC, Showtime (5) (Pay channels that already exist)
ESPN, ESPN2, HDN, HDNM, UHD, Discovery, TNT (7) (Channels we already have)

Bravo, MTV, Food Network, HGTV, NFL Network (5) (Channels that already exist that I know of, but we don't have)

Sci-fi, G4, WGN, TBS, USA, A&E, ESPN News, FX, Lifetime, Spike, TLC, Golf Channel, VH1 (13) (Channels that I haven't heard are switching to HD, but I would expect to see sooner or later)

Distant feeds for ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CW (5)



So there are 35 channels that I figure are pretty obvious choices, throw in Pay-per-view, Sports Subscriptions, Playboy and maybe some of the other adult channels, and possibly alternate channels of the pay movie channels, and then you can get another 35 to 50.

Plus maybe they can aquire soom of the Voom or INHD channels...that would bump it to around 100.

Plus some things I may not have even thought of.

[harsh]

I suspect she was talking about all the locals across the US. We need to know what non-locals channels they will be adding.The official line of bull is 150 national HD channels and 1,500 LIL HD channels. These are essentially the same numbers that were talked about in 2004 and promised for early 2007.

You need to consider that they have claimed 67 HD LIL launches before EOY 2006 which, at this point, amount to turning up nine markets a week. My recollection is that they've turned three or four HD LIL market since they made that claim almost five weeks ago when the rate was 5.58 markets/week.

Don't bet the farm on what the DirecTV marketroids are spewing. The don't seem to have much familiarity with reality (nor the laws of physics).

[RAD]

Will someone PLEASE provide a like to the quote where D* WILL have 150 national HD channels?

The only thing that I've seen is that D* says they will be able to carry up to 150 national HD channels, not that they going to start providing 150 once D10 and D11 go up.

From http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=660036&highlight=
DIRECTV announced last September plans for a dramatic expansion of local and national HD programming over the next two years via four new Ka-band satellites to support the carriage of 1,500 local and 150 CONUS HDTV channels plus other enhanced services. The satellites are now under construction and two will be launched early this year.


From http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=700828&highlight=
The four satellites will provide additional capacity to deliver more than 1,500 local HD and more than 150 national HD channels and other advanced programming services to consumers.

Other then press releases like this I haven't see an annoucement saying that they WILL have 150 national HD channels by 2004, 2007 or any other date.

Don't get me wrong, I wish D* had more HD right now, but I think D* is keeping fairly close to what they announced back in early 2005.

[bcowan12]

Wow. With 150 HD's, just think of all the programs that the HR20 can fail to record. :box:

[Tom Robertson]

Rad,

You are most likely right on. I've always had the impression from D* press that they would be capable of 150 HD national channels, not that they would have 150 channels--there aren't that many yet and likely won't be by EOY 2007.

Now, if they did have 125 HD PPV... :)

Cheers,
Tom

[mndwalsh]

I will absolutely eat my hat if it comes true. .[/QUOTE]



mmmmmmmm. hats, best served warm or cold, I will just sit back and see what happens, it is really hard for me to believe 150 channels but I will keep drinking the kool-aid

[rsonnens]

I guarantee you that is NOT what any D* CSR person is saying because their own corporate literature claims 150 national HD channels by late '07, which will correspond with the launches of the DirecTV 10 and 11 MPEG4 satellites.

Now, whether there will be any national HD content to put on them is another matter.

I'd LOVE to be wrong. But until I see list of the channels that they plan to carry, and a date, then I don't really care what they are promissing.

[upnorth]

Okay that means maybe 50 more at FULL BIT RATE I would rather have that.;)

[davidrumm]

Again from their press releases they are stating capacity for, not will carry. That's the difference that the CSR is not linking to. They read something and change a few words. We do know that with D* 10 and D* 11 they will have a whole lot more bandwdth that will allow for more HD channels. What exactly those channels will be is anyone's guess at the moment.

[Milominderbinder2]

Will someone PLEASE provide a like to the quote where D* WILL have 150 national HD channels?

The promised at the Investors Meeting on February 22, 2006. If Tech Support makes a promise to you, that does not carry much weight. If the officers of the company promise products and features at an annual Investor Meeting, that could be an SEC problem if they don't do it.

Here is the link to the slides that they used at the Investor's Meeting:

Investor's Day Meeting (http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/12/127160/pres/SlidesInvestorDay22206.pdf)

Here are some highlights.

Slide 7
Great graphic of the existing and new satellites

Slide 19
In additiona to installation costs, D* averages another $150+ in commissions.
When negotiating, remember you save them $150 by buying directly.

Slide 33
Available national HD Channels to increase from 10 to 40 in March of 2007
150 National HD Channels by year end 2007

Slide 37
Broadband VOD Download Service
see what the screen will look like

Slide 41
Hard drive expansion device*
– Increased storage without need to replace the
original DVR
– This is a consumer installable device.

Slide 42
“DIRECTV 2 Go” transfer from DIRECTV DVRs
Shows output from your HR-20 to your laptop, etc.

Slide 54
DIRECTV Broadband Video – Q4 06
• ~ 2,000 titles at launch

(This would have to be through the USB connector)

Slide 60
New User Interface for 2007

Slide 64
Top 33% of customers yield 63% of profits

Slide 79
The “Hearts” program
– Above tags co-exist with Customer Value Segment, displayed as 1,3 or 5 hearts
♥♥♥♥♥
Also shows one screen CSR sees when reviewing the client
(How many hearts are you rated?)

Slide 81
Best Customer Loyalty Program
• Provide superior service
– Priority call center support
– Next day service calls (same day service in some cases)
– Free in-home service calls
– Four (4) PPV coupons per month
• First to know about new offerings
• Participation in customer advisory board
• Rewards
– Holiday card with retail discount
– Tickets to CD USA taping for local customer

(Do you know anyone who is included as a Best Customer getting these extra benefits?)

Enjoy!

- Craig

[P Smith]

<skip>of the DirecTV 10 and 11 MPEG4 satellites.<skip>
Don't mess with MPEG encoders in studios and transmitters on satellites.
Transmitters doesn't care about compressions ( Level 6/7 of ISO ).

[RAD]

Slide 33
Available national HD Channels to increase from 10 to 40 in March of 2007
150 National HD Channels by year end 2007



I'm looking at slide 33 at http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/12/127160/pres/SlidesInvestorDay22206.pdf at the title on the slide says "HD National Channels (projected capacity)" Again, I don't see where it says they will have 40 or 150 national HD channels available, just that they will have the capacity to carry that many.

[Milominderbinder2]

I'm looking at slide 33 at http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/12/127160/pres/SlidesInvestorDay22206.pdf at the title on the slide says "HD National Channels (projected capacity)" Again, I don't see where it says they will have 40 or 150 national HD channels available, just that they will have the capacity to carry that many.

No where will you see a promise that you have even one national HD channel today. They offer a lineup of channels. If you call them this Sunday afternoon to complain that they promised 7 HD channels and they took TNTHD all afternoon, they will tell you that you do not have a contractual agreement to receive any particular channel or number of channels.

All you purchased was the capacity of the seven current HD national channels.

They do state in Slide shows the D10 Launch in q1 2007. That is still on track.

The blue line on slide 33 shows current capacity of 7 national HD's now and 40 at the end of Q1 2007 with the number rising to 150 by Q4 2007.

Also see slide 52.

The companion webcast gives the details for the slides:

Webcast (http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-guestBook&UniqueId=1215647&mp=irol-calendar&mpdp=EventId~1215647!WebCastId~517872!StreamId~662 884&pp=IROL-EnhancedWebcast&ppdp=EventId~1215647!WebCastId~517872!StreamId~662 884&pph=540&ppw=788&rdu=http*^^phx.corporate-ir.net^phoenix.zhtml?c~127160!p~irol-IRHome&rdt=&upv=2)

Take care,

- Craig

[Newshawk]

how about all the standard definition channels they lack ????? <Long list of channels edited out for bandwidth conservation>

Hmmm... where have I seen this list before?:confused:

[Slip Jigs]

Ok, I gotta ask -

What the heck is the WATER CHANNEL?

[RAD]

Craig, my responses were to address the OP's comment that CSR's are saying D* will have 150 national HD channels and then the folks wondering what the 150 channels will be. Your response where you say slide 33 leaves out one very imporant word, capacity, you make it sound like there WILL be 150 national HD channels in 2007. You then forget the one little part of the service agreement that you agree to when you purchase D* service, that they can change programming at any time to cover them taking down TNT-HD (or another channel) during NFL SF times on Sunday's

[Dusty]

Hmmm, I am guessing:
Sci-fi, G4, WGN, TBS, USA, A&E, ESPN News, FX, Lifetime, Spike, TLC, Golf Channel, VH1 (13) (Channels that I haven't heard are switching to HD, but I would expect to see sooner or later)


USA: Isn't Universal HD sort of the HD of the NBC franchise?
Golf Channel: Being a golf fan, this would be my wish, too. Especially since Golf channel is going to broadcast more PGA games starting in 2007. However, it's unlikely this is going to happen soon. Of all the sports, golf games are most costly to do in HD because of the number of HD camera requires. Didn't you notice that other than Masters, all other majors have SD shots mixed in? The HD channel probably still will help the SD picture looks good, but I doubt there will be a strong push from Comcast to do that because there is not enough contents in HD for them to broadcast. I am hoping in ten years maybe they will get to it. On that note, I will say Tennis Channel is more likely to go HD.

[harsh]

They do state in Slide shows the D10 Launch in q1 2007. That is still on track.According to information from a satellite insurance site, telecomfinance.com, that isn't the case. D10 was projected to go up in April (Q2) in July 2006 and it would appear that the date has now slipped (as opposed to skipped :)) to May 2007 in the October 1 update. This information was updated well in advance of the delivery of the Q3 earnings report.

According to the above website, D11 is scheduled for June (late Q2) which likely translates to a hand-off in Q3 2007 at the earliest.

[JLucPicard]

Slide 81
Best Customer Loyalty Program
• Provide superior service
– Priority call center support
– Next day service calls (same day service in some cases)
– Free in-home service calls
– Four (4) PPV coupons per month
• First to know about new offerings
• Participation in customer advisory board
• Rewards
– Holiday card with retail discount
– Tickets to CD USA taping for local customer

(Do you know anyone who is included as a Best Customer getting these extra benefits?)

I got one of those cards a looong time ago. Calling that number gets me the same path as calling 1-800-DIRECTV as far as I can tell. My experience calling either number has been identical. I do have 5 hearts (or did - I think I'm on the "A" list now?), but I have seen no difference in using 1-800-DIRECTV than using the number on the Best Customer Loyalty card.

[lewah33]

Slide 56: What is Yes Network Interactive? Is this exclusive to D*? What about other RSNs? Specifically, what about NESN? Last year, there were NO Red Sox home games in HD.

Speaking of the potentail 150 HD channels, could the RSNs and other channels with the sports pack be part of that number? Many of them have significant HD content including NESN, YES and the multitude of Fox Sports Channels. Since both D* and the FSNs are part of Newscorp, their inclusion might make sense. I seem to remember NBA TV having a bunch of HD content as well.

[celticpride]

whats the difference between been a 5 heart customer and an A customer ? which i am but have never been given a loyal customer card. I have never been late or missed a payment in 12 years,and have had NBA league pass 12 years, plus sunday ticket 2 or 3 times , plus i have total choice plus with locals and HBO.

[Wolffpack]

whats the difference between been a 5 heart customer and an A customer ? which i am but have never been given a loyal customer card. I have never been late or missed a payment in 12 years,and have had NBA league pass 12 years, plus sunday ticket 2 or 3 times , plus i have total choice plus with locals and HBO.
"A" list is their best ranking today. Use to be 5 hearts. Don't feel bad about any of the fluff they have in presentations to the stock holders. It's all lies. I've been here just about as long as you, had TCP that whole time along with NFLST and I've never seen the card now the coupons. Just stories to tell the shareholders to make them think they value customers.

[DevoDave]

Very hungry for new HD content. To be horsing around with this few HD channels is a bit silly at this point, its fewer than the local cable company.

Did anyone mention SPEED HD?

[iceman2a]

Slide 56: What is Yes Network Interactive? Is this exclusive to D*? What about other RSNs? Specifically, what about NESN? Last year, there were NO Red Sox home games in HD.

Speaking of the potentail 150 HD channels, could the RSNs and other channels with the sports pack be part of that number? Many of them have significant HD content including NESN, YES and the multitude of Fox Sports Channels. Since both D* and the FSNs are part of Newscorp, their inclusion might make sense. I seem to remember NBA TV having a bunch of HD content as well.

All Red Sox home games for the last 2 years have been broadcast in HD!
NESN has been full time HD on D* since Aug. of this year!

[cybrsurfer]

All Red Sox home games for the last 2 years have been broadcast in HD!
NESN has been full time HD on D* since Aug. of this year!

Boston and Greater Boston as well as certain suburbs can only get HD NESN. Generally if you can't get Boston locals in Massachusetts then you wont get NESN HD. You can get it in SD however, not HD.

[Newshawk]

You need to consider that they have claimed 67 HD LIL launches before EOY 2006 which, at this point, amount to turning up nine markets a week. My recollection is that they've turned three or four HD LIL market since they made that claim almost five weeks ago when the rate was 5.58 markets/week.

Don't bet the farm on what the DirecTV marketroids are spewing. The don't seem to have much familiarity with reality (nor the laws of physics).

What does physics (or "reality") have to do with the timing of HD LiL activations? It's not like they're running extra cables to every house. For all you know, the channels could be already uplinked and be just waiting for the official OK to bring them live... Isn't that how E* does it?

[saleen351]

If GM said their new car is capable of 150mpg but only will get 20, I'd think most people would see right thru this and they would get sued..

I'm calling shenanigans on DTV!

[lewah33]

Boston and Greater Boston as well as certain suburbs can only get HD NESN. Generally if you can't get Boston locals in Massachusetts then you wont get NESN HD. You can get it in SD however, not HD.

yes, sorry, my post should have said there were no out of market red sox home games in HD.

[RAD]

You need to consider that they have claimed 67 HD LIL launches before EOY 2006 which, at this point, amount to turning up nine markets a week. My recollection is that they've turned three or four HD LIL market since they made that claim almost five weeks ago when the rate was 5.58 markets/week.

Don't bet the farm on what the DirecTV marketroids are spewing. The don't seem to have much familiarity with reality (nor the laws of physics).

I think you missed the part about D* saying that they would have 67 HD LIL markets total by the end of 2006, not that they were launching 67 additional before then, http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=914114&highlight=

At the time of this release (10/10/06) they had 42 active and announced 25 additional, which comes out to less then 3 markets per week being activated. Will D* make that number, I'd bet against it. But to be fair IMHO, before you start saying that D* is full of bull you should at least wait to see if they actually do miss their announced dates.

[cybrsurfer]

I don't think DirecTV said they would have 150 by the end of 2007. They said that they have the capacity to carry that many national channels in HD. On top of the 150 maximum national, they still will be offering HD locals in 213 markets representing 94% of the US.

[harsh]

I think you missed the part about D* saying that they would have 67 HD LIL markets total by the end of 2006, not that they were launching 67 additional before then,You are correct. I fixed the calculations elsewhere but failed to come back and fix this one.

Suffice it to say that they aren't going to make it. I'd be surprised to see more than 10 new HD markets show up by New Years day 2007.

[Wolffpack]

I'm calling shenanigans on DTV!
Well Put!!!!