Comcast grows HD Tier at Home (Theirs)


They say you can never really go home again, but if you're from the great Philadelphia region (DMA 4) you might want to consider it — especially if you're an HD enthusiast. That's where Comcast had decided to build out its HD line-up and add up to 50 new HD channels this spring and summer.

For its part, Comcast should feel right at home. It's based in Philadelphia.

No, these are not Comcast's infamous "HD choices." These puppies are legit fulltime HD stations. The nation's largest TV service provider (aiming to get a lot larger if it buys NBC Universal) said its 50-station addition includes its hometown of Philly and beyond — mostly a few surrounding counties (Buck, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery) that make up the cabler's so-called "Freedom Region." (The region's footprint, which affects about 2.5 million Comcast subs, also includes portions of Delaware and New Jersey.)

Some of the added channels include HD venues that several other Comcast markets have not yet received — such as Comedy Central HD and MSNBC HD.

Nationwide, in an unrelated announcement, Comcast this week said it's expanding its VOD "choices" by some 11,000 movie titles — including 3,000 new titles in HD.