View Full Version : Time Warner fires back at DirecTV (regarding HD)
Earl Bonovich
03-09-07, 11:07 AM
Time Warner: We, Too, Can Offer 100 HDTV Channels
The cable op's chief programming executive says it will have the capacity to match DIRECTV's planned lineup of 100 HD networks by year's end.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (March 9, 2007) -- DIRECTV said in January that it will offer 100 national High-Definition channels by the end of 2007.
The announcement led some analysts to opine that the cable TV industry would have difficulty competing with DIRECTV for the growing high-def audience. (Most cable operators now offer fewer than 20 national HDTV networks.)
But don't tell that to Melinda Witmer, Time Warner's senior vice president and chief programming officer. In an interview today with TVPredictions.com, Witmer said that Time Warner will have the technical capacity to offer as many channels as DIRECTV.
...
Read the rest of the interview at TVPredictions.com (http://www.tvpredictions.com/tw030907.htm)
Earl Bonovich
03-09-07, 11:11 AM
The one bit that I liked: The discussion about the "technical" aspects, and the Back To the Future add...
Where they still claim it is false advertising.
At the time of the Ad's launch... Did Time Warner have Switched Video in place? Do they have it in place now?
So based on the "factors" as of "today"... is DirecTV's plans for two more sats, resulting in the ability to carry 3 times the number of HD channels false.. No
Advertising 201
Very similar to when some of these companies claim to be cheaper then another, but have to state the date on when the comparison was made.
Doesn't make them false at the time... just that things have "changed" by the time the ad is aired...
Also with that Switched Video... Wasn't the FCC getting into that a bit, since it is not compatible with Cable Card?
paulman182
03-09-07, 11:24 AM
I think D* should start running commercials telling everyone that TW's chief programming executive doesn't even have an HDTV!!!
Seems to me that says a lot.
veryoldschool
03-09-07, 11:24 AM
It kind of reminds me of an "interview" with the Chevron "spokes person" telling me the gas was still cheaper than water.
I do not exaggerate, she was on my TV saying just that!
Sounds like dueling press releases to me!
How do you spell BS? :grin:
Funniest part of the interview: "Well, this one is easy. I don't have a high-def set"
Time Warner's Senior Vice President and Chief Programming Officer (!!) doesn't have an HDTV set yet.
That's the problem with cable. Still living in the 70's.
That would make be real comfortable if I was on TW ... geez, amazing ... :)
Herdfan
03-09-07, 12:03 PM
At the time of the Ad's launch... Did Time Warner have Switched Video in place? Do they have it in place now?
I would guess one TW neighborhood somewhere does have it. Probably in a trial deployment.
I guess the real question is what % of TW subs will have access to any new HD capacity. I am sure THAT number will be a lot lower than D*'s.
The S3 users in the Rochester, NY area have been complaining about losing channels do to SDV testing for over a month.
I plan to retain my D* account as long as they carry MLB EI, but I also have a TW account for bad weather.
I have already informed TW that they will lose me as soon as FIOS is available because of SDV.
bonscott87
03-09-07, 12:31 PM
Yes, they can do it using Switched Video. Which will take a loooooong time to convert in all markets (heck, some still aren't even upgraded to digital yet).
And of course Switched Video makes all those expensive Series 3 Tivo's to no longer function. Ouch.
Earl Bonovich
03-09-07, 12:43 PM
And of course Switched Video makes all those expensive Series 3 Tivo's to no longer function. Ouch.
And the best part of that... TW knows it does... and is probably one of the reasons they are going that way (because they don't have to do Cable Card then)... Thus if you want a DVR with TW, you have to use theirs.
bonscott87
03-09-07, 12:47 PM
And the best part of that... TW knows it does... and is probably one of the reasons they are going that way (because they don't have to do Cable Card then)... Thus if you want a DVR with TW, you have to use theirs.
And knowing about Switched Video a while ago kept me from even considering anything that runs off cable card. Why would I want to buy a $650+ S3 doorstop? :( Cable card will have a quick death in the next 1-2 years.
Honestly I love the TW announcement. Throw down the gauntlet. Competition is nothing but good for everyone.
Here's my suggestion to TWC, take a lesson from DirecTV's TV ads and improve the quality of your own TV ads.
The one in my area is an anti-FIOS TWC ad in my area where one guy calls his neighbor to tell him he's on vacation, to which the neighbor replies that he can see him from his window. The guy who made the call explains that because of hidden phone co. charges, he can't afford to go anywhere for his vacation.
STOP THE PRESSES!...POT CALLS KETTLE BLACK! Cable is the uncontested master of this ploy, which destroys any credibility the ad might have had, IMO.
ScoBuck
03-09-07, 01:04 PM
And knowing about Switched Video a while ago kept me from even considering anything that runs off cable card. Why would I want to buy a $650+ S3 doorstop? :( Cable card will have a quick death in the next 1-2 years.
Honestly I love the TW announcement. Throw down the gauntlet. Competition is nothing but good for everyone.
No doubt - competition will push them all - or they will die.
But since this is only going to be available market by market as they re-cable, etc. - you would think they would be starting to work on it by now - or they won't be there in any real way until AFTER 2007, and THAT is the point of contention, not that they won't get there, but BY THE END OF '07.
I mean if they get Rochester cabled, but they can't provide 100+ HD channels in other markets, are they there? I don't think so.
thumperr
03-09-07, 01:06 PM
Why would they put an HD channel on VOD if they have enough capacity for all the HD channels? this sounded suspicious to me...
The one bit that I liked: The discussion about the "technical" aspects, and the Back To the Future add...
Where they still claim it is false advertising.
At the time of the Ad's launch... Did Time Warner have Switched Video in place? Do they have it in place now?
So based on the "factors" as of "today"... is DirecTV's plans for two more sats, resulting in the ability to carry 3 times the number of HD channels false.. No
Advertising 201
Very similar to when some of these companies claim to be cheaper then another, but have to state the date on when the comparison was made.
Doesn't make them false at the time... just that things have "changed" by the time the ad is aired...
Also with that Switched Video... Wasn't the FCC getting into that a bit, since it is not compatible with Cable Card?
Even better - NONE of this matters!!! :confused: :confused:
D* takes their capacity claim as a quote from a Bank of America research report. IT'S NOT EVEN THEIR CLAIM!!! :eek2: :hurah:
TW really are a bunch of idiots :) :nono2:
Steve Mehs
03-09-07, 04:00 PM
At the time of the Ad's launch... Did Time Warner have Switched Video in place? Do they have it in place now?
As Bruce said, here in the Rochester franchise we’ve had switched video for a little over a year now. I believe the first switched video channel was Universal HD when it was added last winter during the Olympics. Since then all new SD and HD channels have been in switched video and all new channels will be in it. Currently there are about 77 SD channels (5 digital only, the rest are digital simulcast channels, CableCard customers can get those in analog) and 3 HD channels using SDV. The InDemand sports packages may be also, but I’m not sure.
I really doubt there’s a huge backlash. CableCard was a failure and it should be put to rest, for $5 more a month a CableCard can be traded for a digital terminal which between the EPG and On Demand functionality is worth the cost alone. Honestly I never understood the point of CableCard when a set top box can do so much more. Maybe it would be nice if you had a small TV out in the garage or in the kitchen that you wanted digital cable on, but how many smaller TVs out there are Digital Cable Ready?
To the customers that will continue to lose channels due to switched video, I say oh well, get a digital terminal. In essence the same situation applies with DBS with MPEG 4.
I’m proud to see once again that TW Rochester will be the launch pad for more advancement in cable technology. We’re usually one of the first franchises, if not the first franchise to get new features, services and upgrades.
Why would they put an HD channel on VOD if they have enough capacity for all the HD channels? this sounded suspicious to me...
Why not? HD On Demand is currently has 13 HD movie titles to choose from including Saw III in HD, World Trade Center in HD, See No Evil in HD and a bunch more. Sure beats the lame excuse for HD Per Per View satellite offers and movies are cheaper too.
jimb726
03-09-07, 04:24 PM
Why not? HD On Demand is currently has 13 HD movie titles to choose from including Saw III in HD, World Trade Center in HD, See No Evil in HD and a bunch more. Sure beats the lame excuse for HD Per Per View satellite offers and movies are cheaper too.
I think her quote was along the lines of, "instead of broadcasting a hd channel's programming 24 hours a day we will put it on VOD" she didnt say "we are going to put PPV on VOD" My interpretation of what she said was instead of broadcasting UHD, for example, that select programming would be available on VOD. Maybe I misunderstood her but that is a huge difference and one tht probably needs to be clarified.
These lawsuits strike me as an act of desperation - generally when one company can't compete with another, there's a tendency to get involved with this kind of nonsense. If TW starts to think that they can't compete in the industry in general then the next move will be legislative - they'll pressure congress to enact laws to hamstring DirecTV. This happens all the time. When WT Grant opened the first department store in PA he stumbled on a better way to do business. The other stores couldn't compete with this new model... so they fought to have department stores outlawed. And they succeeded in many states. Until the supreme court stepped in, a few years later, and said you couldn't pass laws to block that kind of competition.
When McDonalds came along and reinvented business by making the franchise a new business model, pressure was put on Congress to make franchising illegal. They came within a couple votes of Congress of doing just that.
These signs from TW are precursors to that kind of behavior. Why waste all this energy (and money) on fighting DirecTV in the courts unless you're trying to bring them down.
BTW, I also read the statement about VOD as a sign that they're going to offer HD in VOD (i.e. they would have the capacity to offer the same HD in terms of bandwidth as DirecTV - just not 100% of the time).
Steve Mehs
03-09-07, 05:06 PM
I think her quote was along the lines of, "instead of broadcasting a hd channel's programming 24 hours a day we will put it on VOD" she didnt say "we are going to put PPV on VOD" My interpretation of what she said was instead of broadcasting UHD, for example, that select programming would be available on VOD. Maybe I misunderstood her but that is a huge difference and one tht probably needs to be clarified.
Okay gotchya, I read it the wrong way. Although if HBO On Demand was in HD, I'd say axe HBO HD. Don't need it.
toy4two
03-09-07, 08:57 PM
cable tv is going the way of dialup internet. Its all fiber optic and dishes from here on out. But I'm sure there are people out there that can live with cable tv and dial up, I'm not one of them.
Dbadone
03-09-07, 10:35 PM
Of course TW said they would have the capacity as well, but D* went further to announce the signed or principals of over 70 broadcasters that will be available in HD already with their intent to have 100. I think if they have the signed agreements they have proven to those broadcasters that they will be able to do it. TW hasn't offered any proof as D* has to my knowledge.
TAnsley
03-10-07, 07:42 AM
I would guess one TW neighborhood somewhere does have it. Probably in a trial deployment.
I guess the real question is what % of TW subs will have access to any new HD capacity. I am sure THAT number will be a lot lower than D*'s.
They are already moving things to switched configuration here in the Austin/Round Rock area. I have seen comments from several pissed off customers in the local forums on AVS about their inability to receive certain HD channels via CableCard.:nono2:
VodGod69
03-10-07, 08:10 PM
Switched Digital for cable is an issue right now as operators like TW and Comcast only support one way cable cards which can only respond to data coming from the headend. They can't be used for interactive apps like SDV or VOD.
Later this year the 2 way or multi stream cable cards will start coming available and SDV will be a possibility for many cable card users.
With this though, I would still be skeptical about any claim from TW as switched digital video is still only a development and trial project for them and other cable operators. The only real way cable can compete with D* and even E* for the forseeable future is with HD VOD.
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