EchoStar Stocks HD Roster

EchoStar Communications is boosting its roster of HDTV offerings, boasting Tuesday that its Dish Network has the largest national HD lineup in the United States.

Dish will launch eight regional sports networks in HD Wednesday that feature game-only baseball content: FSN Arizona, FSN Northwest, FSN Cincinnati, FSN Pittsburgh, FSN Detroit, SportsTime Ohio, FSN North and SportsNet New York

With the launch of nine HD RSNs earlier this year, these new additions bring Dish’s total lineup of HD RSNs to 17, with more channel launches planned for Aug. 15.

Also Aug. 15, Dish will add seven national HD channels to its DishHDprogramming package: MHD, featuring music programming from MTV, VH1 and CMT; Golf/Versus HD; Animal Planet HD; The Science Channel HD; TLC HD; Discovery HD; and History HD, which will debut Sept. 1.

With these additions -- plus more planned for mid-September -- DishHD subscribers will continue to have access to the largest national HD lineup in the United States.

“No one currently has more national HD channels than Dish Network, and we’re committed to maintaining that edge by enhancing DishHD with channels that exemplify the top-quality programming our customers enjoy,” Dish senior vice president of programming Eric Sahl said in a prepared statement. “When it comes to high-definition, Dish Network offers not only the best programming, but the best technology and value, as well, including the only free HD DVR [digital-video recorder] in the industry and, starting Aug. 15, six months of DishHD programming for free.”

DISH Network’s DishHD currently offers customers more than 200 hours per day of HD content from the nation’s top programmers and is a $20 add-on to digital programming packages, including the DishDVR Advantage. The HD RSNs are available to customers who subscribe to Dish’s America’s Top 100 Plus programming with DishHD.