Verizon Communications has added 15 high-definition channels and seven standard-definition networks to its FiOS TV lineup in Fort Wayne, Ind., bringing its HD count to 41 in the market.
The HD additions include Big Ten Network, CNBC, Bravo, USA Network, The Weather Channel, History Channel and HBO West.
Verizon said it will soon carry eight more HD channels—CNN, TBS, Lifetime, Showtime West, Showtime 2, Starz Kids and Family, Starz Comedy and Starz Edge—as well as 16 new multicultural channels.
And Verizon promised it will offer “all available major HD programming” by the end of 2008. The telco has previously announced plans to carry 150 HDs before the end of this year.
“High-definition and sports content are among the most popular TV programming, and we’re bringing the best of both to FiOS TV,” Verizon FiOS TV vice president of FiOS TV content and programming Terry Denson said, in a statement.
Customers in Fort Wayne, where Comcast is the incumbent cable operator, are the first to receive the new FiOS TV channel lineup. Over the next few months, Verizon said, it will roll out the new content in other areas where FiOS TV is available.
In Fort Wayne, FiOS TV now provides “more than 440 HD choices available at any time,” according to Verizon, including a total of 41 HD channels and more than 400 HD video-on-demand titles.
Verizon has borrowed the tactic of touting the number of HD “choices”—as opposed to linear channels—from Comcast, which is aiming to offer “1,000 HD choices” by the end of the year.
Verizon counts 1.2 million subscribers for FiOS TV, which is currently available to 6.5 million households in 13 states.
The company is adding the following new channels to the FiOS TV lineup in Fort Wayne:
New Channels Available Now
Animal Planet HD
TLC HD
USA Network HD
Bravo HD
Outdoor Channel 2 HD
Veria TV
Cinemax West HD
Reelz
Versus/Golf HD
CNBC HD+
RFD TV
WAPA TV
Current TV
SCI FI HD
Weather Channel HD
HBO West HD
Science Channel HD
Univision
Big Ten Network HD
Big Ten Network
Smithsonian Channel HD
History Channel HD
New Channels Coming Soon
GMA Pinoy TV
Setanta Sports
ZEE TV
CNN HD
TBS HD
Lifetime HD
Showtime West HD
Showtime 2 HD
Starz Kids and Family HD
Starz Comedy HD
Starz Edge HD
New International Channels Coming Soon from WorldTV
Kuwait TV (Arabic)
MBT (Arabic)
Public TV of Armenia (Armenian)
BN (Balkan)
NTV Hayat (Balkan)
CTN (Cambodian)
KISB4 - CBS (Korean)
KISB5 - MBN (Korean)
KISB7 - Sky Baduk (Korean)
TVK (Cambodian)
RTPi (Portuguese)
Pro TV (Romanian)
RSC 1 (Romanian)
RTR Planeta (Russian)
