Smithsonian Goes HD
Service Will Make High-Def Debut On DirecTV
By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 9/23/2007 8:00:00 PM
Showtime’s multiplatform video partnership deal with the Smithsonian Institute has yielded its first distribution deal: DirecTV has signed to launch a linear Smithsonian HD channel this week.
Smithsonian HD will launch on DirecTV “on or around Sept. 26” on channel 267 as part of the satellite service’s new HD Xtra Pack, said Smithsonian Networks general manager Tom Hayden.
Multichannel News recently reported that DirecTV is expected to charge $4.99 for the tier, which features such networks as HDNet, HDNet Movies, Universal HD, MHD and MGM HD which don’t have companion standard-definition services.
“Everybody at DirecTV has been very responsive and shares our enthusiasm for the Smithsonian Channel and we’re thrilled to be working with them as our launch partner,” added Hayden.
Initially pitched as a multiplatform provider of content with an emphasis on video on demand, Hayden said the Smithsonian Networks decided to accelerate the launch of a linear HD service to answer the industry’s call for more high-definition content.
“We always intended to be a multiplatform content play, but the HD linear video wasn’t supposed to happen for a year or 18-months after the VOD launch,” Hayden said. ”But after listening to operators and the satellite providers we decided to dramatically change our product strategy and come out with an HD linear service, as well as a VOD product.”
DirecTV executive vice president of content strategy and development Derek Chang said in a statement that the satellite service’s 16-million subscribers “are looking for high-quality HD content, and we believe the Smithsonian Channel’s programming will deliver that and more.”
Among the fare that will appear on the channel is Smithsonian’s first original series Stories from the Vaults, a 30-minute show hosted by actor Tom Cavanagh that goes behind the scenes and into the vaults of the institution’s museums to reveal artifacts that visitors don’t always get to see, according to the network.
“We’re looking at the channel as being an extension of the Smithsonian,” Hayden said. “[The Smithsonian’s] mission is to increase a diffuse knowledge, so we’re looking at the channel to essentially be an extension of that, which provides us with a wide range of programming.”
Hayden said the network is close to finalizing cable operator distribution deals for the HD and VOD services, but would not reveal specific figures.
“I expect to make distribution announcement on a fairly regular basis over the next couple of months,” he added.
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