Hope for ESPNHD on TWC???

[gb4fan92]

Here are 2 posts from TWC customers on another forum:

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I live in LA ( West Valley) and I spoke with a TWC rep yesterday. He told me that starting on sept. 15, TWC will add ESPNHD, DSCHD and INHD!!! I will keep you posted.

P.S. I'm not sure if TWC will ever offer HDNET because I heard that they are part owners or affiliated somehow with the INHD network. Bummer
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TWC Queens
Just got off the phone with the HDTV department for Time Warner Queens and they told me that to their knowledge EPSN-HD, Discovery-HD and Fox Sports-HD are all being added soon. I couldn't get a specific date, but this is the first time I've called and they told me what was coming soon. Also I asked them about the 2 new INHD channels and in typical time warner fashion.... "I don't Know Anything about that." Which is weird since I'm getting the previews and saw the US Open on INHD. As usual they are clueless, but hopefully us TWC Queens folks will be getting Espn, Discovery, Fox Sports, InHD and INHD2 very soon. YAY!!! what else can you ask for?... Besides More Channels?
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Of course with our local TWC I can't get too excited. Maybe just wishful thinking. But if either of these 2 cities gets ESPNHD then I gotta believe it is eventually going to make it here. (Doubtful that it would be on time for Packer MNF this year, but maybe next year?)

[Bebop]

There is nothing on ESPNHD right now other than Sunday Night Football and certain college games. You are not missing much.

[sdn10s]

Originally posted by Bebop
There is nothing on ESPNHD right now other than Sunday Night Football and certain college games. You are not missing much.

You forgot about "Playmakers" (lol)!

Here's the link for all currently scheduled ESPN HD programming between now and the end of November....

ESPN HD Schedule

[Tom Snyder]

Games of most interest:

10/11     
College Football     
Ohio State @ Wisconsin     
9:00


11/2     
National Football League     
Green Bay @ Minnesota     
8:30

and

9/14     
National Football League     
Chicago @ Minnesota     
8:30

[gb4fan92]

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Originally posted by Bebop
There is nothing on ESPNHD right now other than Sunday Night Football and certain college games.  

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This is why I want ESPNHD!!!!!!!!!

[Bebop]

11/2
National Football League
Green Bay @ Minnesota
8:30

If channel 12 picks up that game, wonder if it will be in HD?

[Todd Wiedemann]

Channel 12 will not be carrying that game. Here's the official word:

In response to your question about ESPN-HD for the ESPN Game, we do not have the HD rights to the game, those rights are reserved for the cable systems.

As always, we will upconvert the signal to our HD Channel.

Thank you for your inquiry.

Dean Maytag
Director of Broadcast Operations
WISN-TV

[Bebop]

In response to your question about ESPN-HD for the ESPN Game, we do not have the HD rights to the game, those rights are reserved for the cable systems.

What if you get you digital signal from TW?

[Sparkman87]

Only on ESPN-HD on the Cable systems.  If you are getting WISN-HD on cable it will not be carrying the ESPN-HD feed.  It will be carrying an upcoverted ESPN heed same as OTA.  The local stations carrying Sunday Night football are prohibited by the ESPN/NFL contract from carrying the HD feed.  Hopefully this is something that they will resolve, but don't look for it to change this year.

[Bebop]

Then the reply from Channel 12 was incorrect. Basically, Sunday night Football in HD is an ESPNHD exclusive, for now. They also forgot to mention DirecTV, because no cable system in Wisconsin that I'm aware of has ESPNHD yet.

[Bebop]

Highly Defined Fightin': Time Warner Cable Blasts ESPN Net
2003-09-26 17:33 (New York)

Time Warner Cable's negotiations to carry ESPN HD have hit an
impasse over several issues, including the all-sports net's demand to
charge 80 cents/sub for a service that TWC argues is basically a
multicast of the analog service, which costs more than $2/sub.
"There's no new content," programming chief Fred Dressler contends.
"They're the same games, just re-broadcast. Our subscribers won't miss
any games if we don't take their HD net." ESPN defends its stance,
pointing to consumer surveys that consistently show sports as the topic
with the highest HD interest. A potential solution could come from
packaging ESPN HD with In Demand's HD nets, something Dressler said he
wants ("at a minimum") and something ESPN says it allows. But another
front has opened. Dressler complains ESPN no longer is allowing TW
Cable to pay for ESPN HD, opting instead for renegotiating its entire
relationship with the MSO. ESPN rankled TWC execs when it offered to
renegotiate long-term agreements the 2 signed in '99-the same deals TWC
signed after a bitter retrans battle with ESPN parent Disney [DIS]. "We
have long-term agreements that they forced us into, and now they want
to re-open them all," Dressler said. Once TW Cable rejected ESPN's
original offer for ESPN HD, the new net became "part of a broader
negotiation," ESPN's Sean Bratches says. The dispute centers around a
fundamental difference between how the 2 sides think HD services should
be rolled out. ESPN thinks operators should not give away high-quality
content that consumers would buy. TW Cable believes HD services-
particularly ones that don't offer new content-should be added-value to
existing digital subs. "Nobody charged customers anything extra to move
from black-and-white to color," Dressler said. "We'd charge customers
for a new product. Not for a simulcast product." TW Cable offers the
broadcast nets, Discovery, HBO and Showtime in HD for free, not even
billing subs for the extra equipment. It plans to roll out a Fox Sports
HD channel this fall, and is talking with HD Net. - In the 6 months
since its launch, ESPN HD has cut deals with Comcast [CMCSA], Cox
[COX], Insight [ICCI], NCTC, RCN [RCNC], plus the DBS operators
EchoStar [DISH] and DirecTV. Interestingly, it hasn't signed with
Cablevision [CVC], which also offers HD channels free to digital subs.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on this or any other story from CableFAX,
September 26, 2003, please call PBI Media, LLC's Client Service
Department at 800/777-5006. [Copyright 2003 PBI Media, LLC. All rights
reserved.]

[Gregg Lengling]

Quote "TW Cable offers the
broadcast nets, Discovery, HBO and Showtime in HD for free, not even
billing subs for the extra equipment."Unquote

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you TW subscribers paying an extra fee for the HD boxes???

[gparris]

Quote :
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you TW subscribers paying an extra fee for the HD boxes???

Answer #1: Yes, it is a rental and no extended warranty is involved to fight with or purchase. If TWC subs go out and BOUGHT the cheapest HD box to get Discovery HD (mentioned) they would get it at no extra charge unlike Directv's $10.99 ( yes I know there are 3 other HD channels)....this channel at NO Extra charge...which brings me to ...

Answer #2: Yes, is a rental for $6.95/month and the cheapest Directv HD box is $399  on THEIR website and without even factoring in taxes and that extended warranty that saved your equipment, Gregg, it  would take almost 5 years to recoup the cost and by then, maybe something NEW to the marketplace in technology would have replaced it.
Note: with TWC subs, anything new means they go back to the TWC offices and EXCHANGE it...not buy it!  The most recent is the SA3100HD to Pioneer HD boxes.
Directv has its advantages, yes...this HD box rental thing is getting a little OLD, folks...:rolleyes:

[Snard]

Originally posted by Gregg Lengling
Quote "TW Cable offers the
broadcast nets, Discovery, HBO and Showtime in HD for free, not even
billing subs for the extra equipment."Unquote

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you TW subscribers paying an extra fee for the HD boxes???

Actually, depending on your plan, the answer could be No. TWC doesn't charge any more for rental of a HD converter box than they do for a standard digital cable box. So someone who is signed up for a digital cable plan so they can watch BBC America, etc., would pay the same box rental fee if they wanted a HD converter instead. And the HD converter also gives you access to all the non-HD digital cable channels.

[Onanboy]

I guess the question to ask is what would you pay per month right now to get ESPN HD?

I guess I feel the the way the TWC does.  If there really is no new content, I am willing to pay the same thing I do to watch CSI in HD - nothing.


Paul