http://www.tvpredictions.com/weatherhd092007.htmWeather Channel HD: We Have a Cable Deal!
But the channel won't reveal with whom.
By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (September 20, 2007) -- The Weather Channel says a major cable operator has agreed to carry its new high-def channel.
But it won't say which cable operator.
That's according to an article in Broadcasting and Cable magazine.
The publication reports that The Weather Channel HD signal is now being fed to DIRECTV's headquarters in California. DIRECTV plans to add the channel when it kicks off its high-def expansion this month.
But a Weather Channel spokeswoman says a major cable operator has agreed to offer the HD channel in October -- and two other TV providers will carry it as well.
“Our distribution partners are moving forward with satisfying their customers’ demand for more compelling HD programming, and they see The Weather Channel as assisting them in satisfying this demand,” Becky Powhatan, the channel's executive vice president for distribution and business affairs, said in a statement to the magazine.
Of course, it should be noted that The Weather Channel HD channel will not actually be in high-def for the first few months at least. The network has yet to complete the renovations on its new HDTV studio so its standard definition signals are being "upconverted" to near-HD quality. (Some documentaries, however, will be in high-def.)
Upconversion improves a standard-def picture, but it doesn't provide the clarity and color of a real HD image.
The Weather Channel's HD studio coverage is expected to go real HD sometime next year.
http://www.tvpredictions.com/weatherhd092007.htm
