Charter Ups HD Channels to 44 in Louisiana

Cable Operator Looks to Counter DirecTV Satellite-TV Service

By Jon Hemingway -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/6/2007 1:07:00 PM

In an answer to increased competition for offering HD programming, cable operator Charter Communications doubled its offering of linear HD channels on its systems in Louisiana.

The company upgraded its plant in the region following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, enabling it to increase the number of HD channels to 44.

The Louisiana rollout is part of a greater effort to increase HD offerings across Charter’s systems, and the company will use switched-digital technology to give it greater bandwidth flexibility.

Charter plans to stoke its on-demand library with more HD content, as well, and the company vowed to offer 100 HD options, both linear and on-demand, across its systems before the end of the year.

Cable operators have been increasing their HD efforts in response to DirecTV’s heavy marketing campaign touting its HD superiority. Cable has countered by increasing the HD titles offered on-demand -- a service satellite-television providers are hard-pressed to replicate.