TBS Goes Hi-Def This Fall

by Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/26/2007 11:06:00 AM

Basic cable network TBS will launch a high-definition version come Sept. 1 called "TBS in HD," Turner Entertainment Networks president Steve Koonin announced today.

The new service, a 1080-line interlace (1080i) simulcast of TBS' East Coast feed, will initially only be carried by DirecTV as part of its well-publicized HD expansion, though Turner is in carriage dicussions with other affiliates, says a spokesperson. TBS in HD will add comedy to the high-definition sports and dramas that Turner currently offers on TNT HD. The lineup includes TBS original series "My Boys" and "The Bill Engvall Show," which are being shot in high-definition; first-run series like "Tyler Perry’s House of Payne"; sitcoms "Seinfeld," "Friends," "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Sex and the City"; and comedy specials like "World’s Funniest Commercials."

“With the launch of TBS in HD, we will bring an outstanding line-up of comedy programming to our viewers in a video format that is on the fast track to becoming the industry and consumer standard,” said Koonin in a statement.

TBS in HD will carry sports, too, such as TBS’s exclusive coverage of Major League Baseball’s dvisiional playoffs and the National League Championship Series.