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Mediacom offers HD channels at no additional charge

By Codell Rodriguez, The Southern

Saturday, January 26, 2008 3:39 PM CST

High definition television is the wave of the future and Mediacom wants to push that forward by offering seven free HD channels, according to Mediacom Senior Manager of Government Relations Randy Hollis.

"HD is the cutting edge and we want to make it available to as many customers as possible," Hollis said.

Customers with HDTVs and an HD converter or cable card can sign up for HD Family Basic, which adds seven channels to the company's Family Basic plan at no charge.

The first three channels to premier on the plan are ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD and Discovery Theater HD. Within the next 45 days, TNT HD, TBS HD, CNN HD and Fox Sports Midwest HD will be added. The enhanced programming ranges from $10 to $56 a month.

While it may be offering free channels, Mediacom isn't alone in the HDTV market. Dish Network offers its HD plans that start at $10 a month for 24 HD channels up to $30 a month for more than 75 HD channels.

Jade Ekstedt, spokesperson for DirecTV, said the company will add a portion of its 92 HD channels to base packages for also $10 a month and jump to $72 a month for an HD-Digital Video Recorder package.

Ekstedt said they are concentrating more on HD because of customer input.

"One thing we heard from our customers is that HD is extremely important," Ekstedt said.

Francie Bauer, spokesperson for Dish Network, said with HDTVs becoming more affordable and the demand for HD channels is growing.

"It's getting bigger and bigger," Bauer said. "It's going gangbusters."

Jim Cislaghi of Herrin is one consumer who has jumped on the HD bandwagon. Cislaghi has owned a 65-inch HDTV for two years and watches everything from sports to movies.

"It's got a crystal clear picture," Cislaghi said. "It's almost like someone is sitting right there in front of you."

While Cislaghi has firm control of his remote, Bauer said one of the biggest problems her company sees with HDTV is that customers confuse the equipment with the actual channels.

"A lot of times people think that just because they have HD, they're watching HD," Bauer said.

She explained that regular channels do not suddenly become HD because the viewer has an HDTV.

Both satellite networks are promising more HD channels in "the near future." Mediacom Director of Operations Dale Haney said in a press release that Mediacom plans on doubling HD channels throughout the year.

Bauer said the quality of HD cannot be denied. She said after viewing it, regular channels just look blurry.

"When you start watching HD, it's hard to go back," Bauer said.

codell.rodriguez@thesouthern.com

351-5804