[BHOUSE] (Rumor): Bright House and Time Warner ESPN2 HD carriage within weeks:

[guyfromaustin]

diag mode

Hey Hall, Pmalve, or anyone else that knows,
how exactly do you put your box in "diag" mode? thanks for the help.

 

[Dog6869]

I just started 2 days ago getting Universal HD, on TWC.....

 

[toadfannc]

Well TWC has a deal for Universal HD so this might be a problem with your specific system not offering this channel yet but they will. I haven't asked yet about NGC HD but I will soon. ESPN2 HD sadly isn't looking good right now as it seems like talks just went south but I still haven't got enough information to confirm or deny that talks have gone south. This is all about money right now but from my point of view right now I wouldn't get your hopes up to see that first game yet. Sorry to break the bad news but what else can I say.

I e-mailed Fred Dressler (Corp VP of Programming for TWC)- the guy who makes these decisions and signs carriage agreements. See below:
________________________________________________________

(Dressler's response):

I have nothing to report on nat geo HD, but please squelch the rumor on espn2 hd.

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 10:11 AM
To: Dressler, Fred
Subject: NGC-HD and ESPN2HD

Hi, Mr. Dressler. There are a lot of rumors out there about TWC having a deal in place for National Geographic HD, as well as the deal for ESPN2HD "going south". Any new information on either of these HD channels? Thanks.

 

[JamesJ]

I e-mailed Fred Dressler (Corp VP of Programming for TWC)- the guy who makes these decisions and signs carriage agreements. See below:
________________________________________________________

(Dressler's response):

I have nothing to report on nat geo HD, but please squelch the rumor on espn2 hd.

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 10:11 AM
To: Dressler, Fred
Subject: NGC-HD and ESPN2HD

Hi, Mr. Dressler. There are a lot of rumors out there about TWC having a deal in place for National Geographic HD, as well as the deal for ESPN2HD "going south". Any new information on either of these HD channels? Thanks.

is that a good or bad thing for espn2hd? I am guessing that means that they have something in place by him saying that or I could be taking that the wrong way!

 

[LonghornXP]

is that a good or bad thing for espn2hd? I am guessing that means that they have something in place by him saying that or I could be taking that the wrong way!

I think you all will be happy soon about ESPN2 HD and Fred said this as its good news and to squash the rumor of it going south as its no longer going south but going quite north now. For those of you that want ESPNU that might very well come true as well.

 

[bucknut]

I have D* now....but it TWC picks up ESPNU and ESPN2HD I will make the jump over. For a college sports fan it doesn't get any better, plus the cost of TWC in my area is much cheaper than D*.

 

[MNETOP]

Hi Bucknut,

I made the jump from Dish to TWC last week and very happy about my decision. Especially with the nice deal I am getting for 12 months. Call your local TWC and see if they have the special for Satellite subscribers. In my case, I am getting all digital channels, HBO, Showtime, HD tier, 1 DVR, 1 HD box for a grand total of $82.00 (That includes all fees and taxes.) Oh yes, all Network HD feeds are part of this as well. This was done with no commitments from my side and with the only upfront cost of a $19.99 install.

I have my fingers crossed for ESPN 2HD as I am a big soccer fan, the World Cup is coming in June, and ESPN 2HD will be carrying some of the games in HD.

LonghornXP or anybody else, do you know if ESPN2-HD will be rolled out to all TWCs around the country, or will this be on a case by case basis?

Mario.

 

[LonghornXP]

LonghornXP or anybody else, do you know if ESPN2-HD will be rolled out to all TWCs around the country, or will this be on a case by case basis?
Mario.

When the contract is in place it will be offered in all TWC and BHN areas but again like I said before your system may not offer it as quick as another system. But rest assured the deal will pass down to all TWC and BHN systems. Also bandwidth is another issue which means if your specific cable system doesn't have enough bandwidth left to offer this channel it will mean that you won't get the new HD channel until one of the following occurs.

1. They upgrade the system to get more bandwidth.
2. They must take away another HD channel or several SD channels to offer this new HD channel.
3. Or they just don't offer the new channel until one of the two is done.

This will only be a problem for a very few systems but you must know.

 

[guyfromaustin]

"diag" mode

If you have an 8x00HD series set-top, you can put it in 'diag' mode and punch in channel numbers directly and see if any "test" channels appear. I can get my local NBC and WB affiliates in this mode, but only this mode. TW and those stations don't have an agreement to carry yet.... I can also get an interactive card game of some sort. Not sure what else is available....

I'll check to see if either Nat'l Geographic Channel or ESPN2-HD show up.

how exactly do you put your set-top in "diag" mode?

 

[terryfoster]

how exactly do you put your set-top in "diag" mode?

Hold down select and exit on the STB until the front of the box says "diag". I believe if you hit exit again you will get the diagnosis mode menu.

 

[MNETOP]

Just wondering if there are any updates on the ESPN2-HD negotiations.

Thanks!

 

[LonghornXP]

Just wondering if there are any updates on the ESPN2-HD negotiations.

Thanks!

Sadly nothing new to report.

 

[JerryVolunteer]

So whats the news on this? Are they still in the works of getting ESPN2HD?

 

[LonghornXP]

So whats the news on this? Are they still in the works of getting ESPN2HD?

I called Fred and this is what I was told should be coming soon.

TMC HD within weeks (deal is done so weeks is the launching of it on the various systems).

Cinemax HD is expected to have a deal in a couple of weeks.

ESPN2 HD will be done before the start of baseball.

MTV HD and NGC HD are being worked on but no ETA yet but we might see them before or around the summer.

Starz HD and Starz On Demand will be at least 4th QT of 2006 wait.

I hope this helps you all out.

 

[JerryVolunteer]

I called Fred and this is what I was told should be coming soon.

TMC HD within weeks (deal is done so weeks is the launching of it on the various systems).

Cinemax HD is expected to have a deal in a couple of weeks.

ESPN2 HD will be done before the start of baseball.

MTV HD and NGC HD are being worked on but no ETA yet but we might see them before or around the summer.

Starz HD and Starz On Demand will be at least 4th QT of 2006 wait.

I hope this helps you all out.

Thanks Longhorn. If this stuff starts happening I will definately go to Time Warner. I need to jump off a sinking ship (DirecTV). There is no way I am giving $500 for a DVR and not own it.

 

[LonghornXP]

Thanks Longhorn. If this stuff starts happening I will definately go to Time Warner. I need to jump off a sinking ship (DirecTV). There is no way I am giving $500 for a DVR and not own it.

Also note for those of you on Bright House Networks that this deal will also cover all Bright House Networks customers.

 

[bucknut]

Thanks for the update Longhorn. Any additional news on ESPNU? Could it be included in the carriage agreement for ESPN2HD? I had ESPNU with D* and now that I have TWC I really do miss it.

 

[LonghornXP]

Thanks for the update Longhorn. Any additional news on ESPNU? Could it be included in the carriage agreement for ESPN2HD? I had ESPNU with D* and now that I have TWC I really do miss it.

I'm hearing that ESPNU is part of the deal from other contacts but Fred hasn't said one way or another so I'm not sure where I stand on this.

 

[JamesJ]

Great news, Thanks Longhorn for keeping us posted! also as a side note, should you really be giving out someone's name? one of your contacts?

 

[LonghornXP]

Great news, Thanks Longhorn for keeping us posted! also as a side note, should you really be giving out someone's name? one of your contacts?

I got this information from Fred Dressler who is the Executive Vice President of Programming for Time Warner Cable.