The move expands the direct-to-home satellite provider’s HD sports offerings.

EchoStar Communications and its Dish Network have ramped up seven Regional Sports Networks that are designed to strengthen the DBS firm's HD profile, as Dish and competitor DirecTV battle it out to see which satellite service can out-HD each other in the race for new subscribers.

If TV cooking shows already whet a lot of appetites in plain old analog, guess what's coming to a screen near you? Dish Network plans to expand its HD menu to 30 channels this month with the launch of Food Network HD on its DBS service. Dish said the non-fattening addition will signify the most ambitious HD line up o

The DBS firm said it continues to be on track for its long-term plans to reach a goal of 100 local HD markets and 100 national HD channels by New Year’s Eve 2008.

DIRECTV will broadcast HD games produced by regional sports networks (RSNs) via a local market spot beam.

Dish plans to add more than a half-dozen additional national HD channels to its current lineup by early September.

EchoStar Communications Corporation announced last week that it plans to increase the number of markets receiving local channels over its DISH Network to 106 by the end of this year. Forty-two additional markets were identified in the press release. In addition to announcing the additional local channels, EchoStar in

The company now offers local high-definition channels in 170 markets across the United States.