CapeCodToday Blog Chowder

Hi everybody. I just thought I'd quickly let you all know that the benefits of the channel changes now are starting to come to fruition. We launched seven new HD channels today: Disney HD, ABC Family HD, TLC HD, AMC HD, Science Channel HD, TMC (The Movie Channel) HD and Showtime2 HD. This was made possible by the recent channel realignment, and more is on the way. We already offer consumers the most HD choices at any given time (500+), and these and other launches will get us to 1,000 choices at any time by the end of the year. Thanks again for this discussion.

Hi Solon. Buzz already made some of these points, but I think I can add a few more specifics. Our digital cable service offers a lot more to consumers than either analog or satellite service. Digital cable includes On Demand, which provides more viewing choices and more control over what you watch and when you watch it (our digital customers can access more than 10,000 On Demand programs every month, the vast majority of them for no additional cost). Digital service also offers a sharper picture, better sound, 47 music channels, and the ability to add options like HD service and DVRs. As for the other technologies that have been discussed here this week, if you’ll excuse a quick plug (of something that is free and relevant to this discussion), we recently launched a new website called Fancast – www.fancast.com. Fancast offers an amazing library of programs that anybody with an Internet connection can watch whenever they want. Anyways, I hope I’ve answered your questions, Solon. Thanks for the opportunity to participate in the conversation.

Hi all. Jim Hughes from Comcast’s Boston office here. I thought I’d weigh in to explain the reasoning behind the move of some channels from our analog lineup to our digital lineup. With more than 70 percent of our customers in New England now receiving digital service and one analog channel taking up the same amount of bandwidth as 10 digital channels (or three HD channels), these changes will enable us to make better use of our network for our customers. We’ll be able to deliver enhancements that our customers have requested, like more HD programming, more On Demand programming and faster Internet speeds. While other providers are doing away with analog service altogether, we will continue providing low-cost analog service for the foreseeable future.