MSNBC HD Spreads into Maryland, Rural Virginia

A few weeks ago, HD Notebook noted some small markets where Comcast and other major cablers were trickling out MSNBC HD, which had jumped to 1080i status back during the summer. As of Nov, 10, Comcast tells us MSNBC HD has just launched in Maryland's capital, Annapolis, as well as the nearby counties of Anne Arundel and Calvert.

Comcast had told HD Notebook earlier this month the nation's largest pay-TV provider had launched MSNBC HD (among "45 other new HD networks launched since August") in both Charles and St. Mary's counties in Maryland.

Before the end of 2009, Comcast spokeswoman Alisha Martin said, it will provide channel slots for MSNBC HD in Baltimore County and Montgomery County, Md., and Loudoun County, Va. (an outlying Washington, D.C., suburb bordering West Virginia). No word yet on the rest of the populous Washington region Comcast currently serves, such as Prince William County and parts of Fairfax County, both in Virginia, or any other major DMAs.