Starz Entertainment this week said it plans to add three more HD channels to its current single HD venue, to include the East Coast feeds of Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, and Starz Kids & Family. Starz HD is already available in East and West Coast feeds (along with two VOD services--Starz On Demand HD and Encore On Demand HD). The company said in a statement the new HD channels are expected to ramp up in late summer or early fall.
According to the premium service, the new additions will give Starz subscribers the largest package of HD movie channels of any widely distributed programming service--and the only one featuring first-run motion pictures. Noting some research which indicates only about half of all HD set owners regularly view cable or satellite channels in HD (instead, watching broadcast HD or standard DVDs), Starz said it wants to give its subs a reason to watch HD content on a Starz venue and not stray elsewhere and it "will make a major effort to convince HD set owners that their televisions are good for more than just watching DVDs."
