Time Warner HD.........

[Chinatown]

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.

"I'm 100 percent confident that we will have as  compelling a HDTV lineup as DIRECTV," Witmer said.


Time Warner SVP Melinda Witmer

In the interview, Witmer also commented on Time Warner's lawsuit against DIRECTV over its high-def TV commercials; why ESPN2 HD is not available in every Time Warner market; and whether Time Warner will continue to broadcast in analog when the nation switches to Digital TV in February 2009.

Here are the highlights of the TVPredictions.com interview with Time Warner's Melinda Witmer.

TVPredictions: Some industry executives are saying today that DIRECTV's deal with Major League Baseball for the Extra Innings package was rigged to ensure that DIRECTV would get the deal exclusively. What's your opinion?

Melinda Witmer: I haven't read the details of the agreement so I can't comment. I don't know why people are saying it's rigged. It sounds like (cable operators) would have to pay what DIRECTV is paying. So I will say that it's part of a constant evaluation of whether acquiring programming is too expensive or not. Beyond that, I can't say.

TVP: DIRECTV's TV commercials (starring Christopher Lloyd) say that it will soon have three times the HD capacity as cable. Time Warner has sued, saying the commercials are false. Why did Time Warner sue while other cable operators did not?

MW: We will be rolling out Switched Digital Video (a new transmission technology) by the end of the year and that will allow us to offer a lot more channels. So to see the DIRECTV ads that tell consumers that they will have three times the number of channels as cable is not a factual statement...Competition is one thing but Time Warner was not prepared to accept that. I'm 100 percent confident that we will have as compelling a HD lineup as DIRECTV.

Of course, we have to negotiate the deals (with the HDTV networks). You can have the capacity but you still have to negotiate the deals, which is my job...And we are not going to get into the total numbers debate -- you know, which (TV provider) has the most channels. I don't think people are going to care if we are carrying 15 channels that show a log burning just because it's in HD. But we are working with (every HD network).

[gparris]

Thanks for spilling out the link I provided in another thread....shows how much TWC cares about its higher-end subscribers by placing a person in charge of contract negotiations that does not own an HDTV set and has seen only ONE HD programme....how ridiculous (and stupid).

Let's face facts, Melinda Witmer, Directv has a actual satellite going up that CAN provide many more HD channels in capacity than TWC and all TWC has is empty promises of SDV that has never rolled out for the same type delivery!

[bubbaridesfast]

Ya, Melinda sure makes it sound great, they will start rolling out SDV at year's end, but how long until it reaches say, the Milwaukee market?

Wasn't the FCC hammering them for switched digital? Something about making cable cards useless and they were pressured to reduce the need for a set top
box not increase it?

How much longer until ESPN2HD is carried? D* will have ESPN NewsHD before TWC carries the Duece in HD.

Me thinks Melinda is strictly for damage control PR, how else can she get that job without even owning HD?

[Blitzburgh]

Cable will NEVER be able to keep up with satellite.

[PaulKTF]

Cable will NEVER be able to keep up with satellite.

Yeah; it's great how satellite has all those On Demand channels!

Oh, wait, it doesn't... :rof:

[smack]

Plus time warner has NFL sunday ticket and DirecTv doesn't.  er....wait.......

But I am sure many subscribe to TWC for the "Shorewest" channel.  Nice addition!!!

[Mark Strube]

Lets stop it right here. Nobody knows what the future will hold, so this erupting debate is pointless.

[Paul S.]

Lets stop it right here. Nobody knows what the future will hold, so this erupting debate is pointless.

Awww, let it go- I love it when dorks argue!! "Star Wars is better!" "No way loser, Start Trek is better!" :rof: :rof: :rof: :rof:

[Mark Strube]

Ugh, that's what their conventions are for.

[jeffski]

Yeah; it's great how satellite has all those On Demand channels!

Oh, wait, it doesn't... :rof:

Nice comeback

[jeffski]

Plus time warner has NFL sunday ticket and DirecTv doesn't.  er....wait.......

But I am sure many subscribe to TWC for the "Shorewest" channel.  Nice addition!!!

Shorewest?..lol. No,actually there are many many on demand channels well worth watching. I like A&E on demand as well as the numerous Wisconsin on demand choices. It's nice dealing with a local provider. What they need now is an HD on demand channel.
As far as the (way overpriced) NFL Sunday ticket. I'm sorry, I cant see the logic behind watching several games at once, and then you have to wait another week to get dizzy again. As long as I can see the Packers in HD,I'm happy.

[SRW1000]

Awww, let it go- I love it when dorks argue!! "Star Wars is better!" "No way loser, Start Trek is better!" :rof: :rof: :rof: :rof:

That's easy enough to settle.  Star Wars is definitely better.



Scott

[bradsmainsite]

With entertainment like this who needs TV!

[Mark Strube]

http://www.milwaukeehdtv.org/forums/announcement.php?f=11
11. Topics that become a flaming match between OTA/Cable/Satellite users will be deleted at will with instigators warned of possible banishment.

Most of us in this forum are not ignorant of the pros & cons of the different services. If someone is wondering, they can ask, there have been many threads with people looking for recommendations on which service to get. This, however... is pointless; everything after the 2nd reply has nothing to do with the subject of this thread.

If you want to continue to discuss the article that this post was originally about, just go here: http://www.milwaukeehdtv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=6885
This thread was a repeat of that anyways.

Closed.