Comcast to Offer 800 HD Channels? Not.

In response to the DirecTV announcement that it will have 100 HD channels by 2008, Comcast has retorted that it will have 400 "channels" in HD by 2008, and 800 by end of that year. While this all sounds like a fantastic opportunity for consumers to benefit from corporate competition it's important to understand that certain "definitions" are being changed on the part of Comcast in order to show that they can compete in this arena of emerging high definition programming.

Comcast is confusing issues with a global redefinition of the term HD "channel" by inserting the word "choice"). What this means is that, as far as Comcast is concerned, any HD program available on an On-Demand system constitutes a "channel choice". Asphinctersayswhat? A "channel choice" to Comcast is, apparently, the same as a real HD channel with multiple sources of programming.

Let's put this into an example to understand the redefinition and what it means to consumers. If you select a movie from an HD On-Demand channel using Comcast, you are selecting from one of their 100 hours of HD VOD (Video On Demand). To Comcast, this constitutes an HD "Channel Choice". So as far as they are concerned they have over 50 HD Channels already - you can see how this is easily blown into the realm of make-believe. Contrast this with DirecTV's announcement, who lists "agreements in principle" with the following networks for HD programming: A&E, National Geographic, Bravo, NFL Network, Cartoon Network, SciFi Channel, CNN, Speed, Food Network, TBS, FX, The History Channel, HGTV, The Weather Channel, MTV, and USA Network. I may have to switch to satellite if the Sci-Fi Channel actually goes HD...

This begs the question: "Does Comcast have a clue what it's talking about and where is this all going?" Well, we're not sure, but the source article at TVPredictions.com seems to indicate that at least one person down in the Comcast PR department needs to have their head examined. Consumers aren't dumb and trying to make apples-to-oranges comparison on HD programming does nothing to help consumers decide for themselves which service provides better material and choices.