Leading the High-Definition Charge

Verizon Communications recently announced that it planned to add 25 high-definition channels to its FiOS TV lineup this month, bringing its HD offerings up to some 60 HD channels. And FiOS has said that it planned to have 150 HD channels by the end of 2008. But FiOS TV vice president of content and programming Terry Denson stressed that the ultimate goal is to be “the clear categorical leader” in HD programming by “any measure.” Denson recently spoke with contributor George Winslow. A longer version is available on Multichannel.com and Broadcastingcable.com. An edited transcript follows:

George Winslow: What are Verizon’s plans for expanding your HD offering this year?

Terry Denson: A lot has been made of actual channel counts but we don’t obsess over channel counts. We obsess over being the leader in HD and making sure that we are leaders in the category. And, leadership in the category is more than just channels. It means that you are serving a number of diverse demographics.

GW: In the past, Verizon executives have said FiOS would reach 150 HD channels by year-end. Is that still your target?

TD: The important thing is that we expect to be the categorical leader. We are on our way. We haven’t arrived yet and we are still negotiating some agreements, which is why I want to shy away from mentioning specific channels. But we expect to have more than 1,000 HD [on-demand] titles by the end of the year and in term of channels we will be the leaders by the end of year as well.

GW: Beyond the obvious categories — movies, sports, etc. — are there some other types of HD content that you’re particularly interested in?

TD: Multicultural is one key point of acquisition for us. I think Dish [Network] has done a terrific job in the multicultural area and DirecTV has a done a great job of expanding their multicultural offering.

Because of bandwidth limitations, cable has not done as much.

GW: Right now, there isn’t a lot of multicultural content available in HD. Do you currently offer any and if not, how soon do you hope to have some?

TD: We currently do not have multicultural content in HD but we expect to have some by the end of the year.

GW: On the competitive side, there have been a lot of claims about what various platforms are offering. How difficult is it to get consumers to understand the relative merits of these competing marketing claims?

TD: As VOD becomes mainstream, consumers will be making a decision on the basis of the HD linear content and the HD VOD content.

But it is a complicated message to effectively impart to a potential consumer. It is a lot easier for a consumer to say, “This provider has 150 channels and this one has 100 channels, so I’ll choose the one with 150 channels,” than the contemplative approach of choosing a provider with 100 HD channels and 500 HD programs available at any one time on demand.