EchoStar Communications on Thursday began offering local high-definition TV channels to subscribers of its Dish Network satellite-TV service in Colorado.
The Douglas County-based company said it has added three local HD channels – KMGH-Channel 7 (ABC), KCNC-Channel 4 (CBS) and KDVR-Channel 31 (Fox) – to its existing lineup of 25 national HD channels.
The company is still negotiating an HD deal with KUSA- Channel 9 (NBC), said spokesman Mark Cicero.
Dish’s rival, DirecTV Group, plans to launch local high-def channels in Colorado in April.
Dish has a marketing advantage by being the first satellite-TV provider to offer local HD content in the state, said Matthew Harrigan, a Janco Partners analyst who covers the industry.
“It’s a big step,” Harrigan said. “DirecTV is very aggressive on the HD side.”
DirecTV is the nation’s largest satellite-TV provider, with 15 million subscribers. Dish is second with 12 million.
Dish’s lineup of national HD channels includes ESPN and TNT.
In metro Denver, a Dish package that features more than 60 standard channels and 23 national HD channels – which excludes premium channels HBO and Showtime – costs $49.99 a month. The local HD channels cost an extra $5 a month.
A package featuring all of Dish’s HD channels, including HBO, Showtime and local channels, costs $74.99 a month.
Cable giant Comcast launched high-def service nationwide in 2001 and began offering the service in Colorado in 2003, said spokeswoman Cindy Parsons. In Colorado, Comcast offers 14 HD channels, including local channels. Parsons said Comcast plans to add more HD channels.
A Comcast digital-cable package that features about 130 channels, including the 14 HD channels, costs about $60 a month in metro Denver.
EchoStar stock closed Thursday at $29.06 a share, down 4 cents.
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at 303-820-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com.
