All Quiet Concerning DirecTV Launch

[Gregg Lengling]

Developments surrounding the launch of DirecTV 7S, which will support the satellite TV company's efforts to expand local TV services to additional cities, lately has been quiet.

Sea Launch, which will launch the satellite aboard its ocean-based platform, has the spacecraft in its home port at Long Beach, Calif. Departure of the Sea Launch platform into the waters of the Pacific is set for sometime later this month, with launch tentatively scheduled for early May, the company's Web site states. The companies gave no specific dates.

However, Space.com reports that Sea Launch will launch the Zenit 3SL vehicle with its DirecTV 7S payload around May 2.

DirecTV 7S will reside in the satellite TV company's orbital location at 119 degrees. The second spot beam satellite in the DirecTV fleet, DirecTV 7S will deliver local channels to more than 60 markets, including 41 new local channel markets.

[borghe]

lol.. directv is quiet about it because with all the missed dates they've suffered so far at the hands of SSL, they can't afford to get anymore egg on their face... needless to say, you probably won't hear another single peep from DirecTV until the bird is in space and transmitting a signal.

[gparris]

Directv promised more SD locals and what, triple or double the HD offerings for this year and its almost going to be 1/2 the year over before the 7S is up and running?

Competition would would great for cable, which hasn't added any new HD channels, lately, either.
TWC is still ahead of the pack in offerings overall, but if DTV and Dish know what is good for them, the increased satellite capacity could mean more HD channels like Voom offers now...this could impact the HDTV buyer to go sat instead of cable if the subscriber could go OTA for local HD channels.:eek:

The scenario I vision is the HD Tivos are on the store shelves, the HD DVR is ready and available from TWC and the 7S goes up with more HD channels: then TWC has to come up the plate and hit some more HD balls, er, channels.  
This could be as soon as July...a TWC installer mentioned another batch of HD channels to go with that HD DVR once it is ready and in subscribers homes, only he couldn't name which channels as contacts and so on were in process and he would get in trouble if I quoted him. That 14-18 HD channel "possibility" mentioned by our very own TWC guy forum member months ago came to light.
I can only hope it occurs...sooner than July.