Mark Cuban promises the first 1080 NHL & NBA arena next season
[Via Dallas Observer & Mark Cuban]
Posts with tag nhl
AT&T may be raising its U-verse TV rates, but at least it's showing subscribers that all those dollars aren't going to waste (or a bigwig's pocket). Starting this week, both NHL Network and NHL Network HD are being added to the U-verse TV lineup, but you'll need either the U400 tier or The Sports Package in order to view 'em. Catch the action on the ice right now on slot 1638 (HD) / 638 (SD).
It may be a bit late for the start of the season, but Verizon's added the NHL Center Ice package, letting viewers subscribe to 40 out of market NHL games every week and early round playoff games, with "select" games in high definition. Beyond the $169 season bundle, FiOS also will soon be home to the NHL Network channel promising 75 HD games this season, along with 24 hours a day to talk cross-checking, zambonis and whatnot. We don't know if it can save hockey but we're glad Verizon is providing another option to the MLB, NBA and NFL action going on right now.
TSN2 just launched on two Canadian carriers last month, but apparently that's not enough for the channel. It's also announcing that beginning this weekend, the network's entire slate of in-house programming will be transitioned to HD. In just a few days, viewers will be able to see the CFL on TSN pre-game show in spectacular high-definition, and in the future, you'll be able to catch NHL on TSN, TSN The Reporters with Dave Hodge, Raptors on TSN and In This Corner with Russ Anber -- all in HD. When this is complete, nearly 75% of everything the channel airs will be in high-def, though there's no telling when that final quarter will be seized.
We know, the major sports outlets aren't even playing it up, but the 2008 - 2009 NHL season is upon us. For fans of the Montreal Canadiens, they'll be enjoying the live action more than most thanks to a 50,000-pound scoreboard that's lighting up the Bell Centre this year. The board, which stands in at 25-feet high and 40-feet wide, sports an undisclosed HD resolution and is (of course) 2.5 times larger than the one recently purchased by the rival Maple Leafs for the Air Canada Centre. So yeah, now it's not just about the score, it's about the board the score is on.
Sure Sidney Crosby's Penguins just went up 3-0 in a playoff series against the Flyers, but the National Post suggests HDTV might give a bigger boost to the sport of hockey than either he or Alexander Ovechkin can. Courtesy of an expanded widescreen format that gives a better look at the ice and enhanced resolution allowing viewers to finally discern the puck without annoying FoxTrax graphics. While we've always found being able to see what's going on as a plus, we're not sure high definition alone will move hockey, soccer, arena football or any other hopefuls closer to the big three in American's sports consciousness.
Fans of NHL Live should know the noon broadcast is now on TV, straight from the studios in New York to NHL Network. Hopefully, hosts Don La Greca and E.J. Hradek have their HD makeup ready for the spotlight, since theirs is the first satellite radio program to make the jump to HDTV. Faces made for radio or not, we figure they've got to be better than listening to the skinny Mike (from Mike & Mike on ESPN) go on and on about his hair.
Just in time for another season, Dish Network adds the National Hockey League Network to their always-growing HD lineup. NHL HD will sport 50 live regular-season games, classic games, documentaries, and how-to shows; we're wondering how much of the extra features will be in high-def however. The station is already live on channel 403 and 559 for subs with America's Top 100 package or the NHL Center Ice subscription respectively. This new station should calm rabid Hockey fans but they do hold Hockey's dirty, little high-def secret: the sport is, arguably, the best looking programming in high definition.
It's a fantastic, albeit hectic time to be a sports fan right now, as there just seems to be too many good matchups going on to truly enjoy them all. Additionally, the NHL season is just now getting underway, and for those who eat, sleep and breath cross-checking, we've got stellar news. Reportedly, the 24-hour NHL Network will launch on several communications outlets this month, including Comcast, DirectTV and Dish Network. All told, it should be available to around 75 million homes across the US, but exact launch dates on the aforementioned carriers have yet to be pinpointed. Notably, Dish Network stated that it was targeting October 17th as the channel's first on-air date, and a spokesperson even mentioned that it would "only be available in high-definition." Hey, it won't hurt our feelings.
Following directly in the footsteps of Comcast, it looks like Cablevision has become the next carrier to add Versus HD and Golf Channel HD to its high-definition lineup. Additionally, the deal moves Golf from Cablevision's $4.95-per-month sports tier package to its iO digital lineup. Interestingly, the company's CEO even mentioned that a whopping "80-percent of its cable subscribers were embracing digital television," but neglected to mention the concentration of paying HD customers. So while hockey may be a good ways off at this point, the Cablevision golfers in the crowd will have a lot to look at in the upcoming months.











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