From CV 3rd Qrt Earning Call: Expect more HD channels we have room for 500 HD channel

[Sean Mota]

"Our high-definition video subscribers totaled 898,000 at the end of
the quarter, an increase of 71% over the past year, reflecting ongoing
strong demand for our HD product. We continue to make our HD offering
more attractive. In addition to recently adding the 15 VOOM HD
channels, CNN and TBS are now offered in HD, all at no extra charge to
our customers. Today Cablevision provides 42 HD programming services to
our HD customer base, and we expect to add more HD channels in the
coming months on our 500 channel capable platform

Source: Yahoo group

[RemyM]

The full transcript is available here

Cablevision Q3 2007 Earnings Call Transcript - Seeking Alpha

There was a question about rates and HD asked.
Here it is

Benjamin Swinburne - Morgan Stanley

There have been some press reports on a rate increase in the basic tier next year which I think would be the first one in a couple of years. I am just wondering if you could talk about the strategy there as Verizon is clearly adding footprint? I think they've got some pretty aggressive offers in the marketplace today.

Second, along those same lines I think they put out a release that they are going to take their HD lineup to 100 channels plus. Can you give us an update on your use of switch to digital, where you are on that in the footprint right now and where that takes your HD lineup over the next say 12 to 18 months?

Tom Rutledge

Yes, well, with regard to pricing we have been very moderate in our pricing over the last three years. We've been almost all of our growth and all of our revenue growth has been due to additional RGU growth. We did announce a rate increase a little over 4% for next year. Our prices are currently lower than Verizon's. They will continue to be lower than Verizon's absent a change on their part. They raised their rates over 7% last year in the face of the competitive environment, and obviously programming costs on the video side continued to impact the cost structure of the whole industry.

We have lower prices than our competitor, and we will continue to have lower prices and so we are comfortable with our rate structure in the competitive environment.

We now have approximately 70 channels being carried in the switch digital format, almost all of that is ethnic programming. We just tested and proved out to ourselves that HD switch video works. We are prepared to launch additional HD channels as they become available to us. We currently carry more regional HD than any of our competitors, and we have more HD and On Demand HD that our competitors can't replicate.

We think we can carry using switch digital and other technological changes in our infrastructure, like for instance in New York City we went all digital, and we have more spectrum unused than we are currently using. We think that we have the capacity to carry as many HD channels as can be launched.

[capt.video]

The full transcript is available here

Cablevision Q3 2007 Earnings Call Transcript - Seeking Alpha

There was a question about rates and HD asked.
Here it is

Benjamin Swinburne - Morgan Stanley

There have been some press reports on a rate increase in the basic tier next year which I think would be the first one in a couple of years. I am just wondering if you could talk about the strategy there as Verizon is clearly adding footprint? I think they've got some pretty aggressive offers in the marketplace today.

Second, along those same lines I think they put out a release that they are going to take their HD lineup to 100 channels plus. Can you give us an update on your use of switch to digital, where you are on that in the footprint right now and where that takes your HD lineup over the next say 12 to 18 months?

Tom Rutledge

Yes, well, with regard to pricing we have been very moderate in our pricing over the last three years. We've been almost all of our growth and all of our revenue growth has been due to additional RGU growth. We did announce a rate increase a little over 4% for next year. Our prices are currently lower than Verizon's. They will continue to be lower than Verizon's absent a change on their part. They raised their rates over 7% last year in the face of the competitive environment, and obviously programming costs on the video side continued to impact the cost structure of the whole industry.

We have lower prices than our competitor, and we will continue to have lower prices and so we are comfortable with our rate structure in the competitive environment.

We now have approximately 70 channels being carried in the switch digital format, almost all of that is ethnic programming. We just tested and proved out to ourselves that HD switch video works. We are prepared to launch additional HD channels as they become available to us. We currently carry more regional HD than any of our competitors, and we have more HD and On Demand HD that our competitors can't replicate.

We think we can carry using switch digital and other technological changes in our infrastructure, like for instance in New York City we went all digital, and we have more spectrum unused than we are currently using. We think that we have the capacity to carry as many HD channels as can be launched.

Well, that is all we are hearing from CV these days & I guess thats all well & good BUT they seen to be @ the "tail end" of new HD additions after all one new channel every other month (if even that) & they should @ least let people know what channels are coming up & not tell us we have the capasity "when they become available" ???... (oh like the other services have to wait?)

[chek_ya_self]

Old news.
We're already into 1st quarter.
Time to remove from sticky threads.