Viacom has finally gotten nationwide distribution of its new pay-TV network, Epix, in a deal with Dish Network. With that, Dish claims that it is the first and only company to offer 200 national HD channels.
Although Epix is carried on several cable systems in certain parts of the country, it has been slow to secure a true national footprint. The addition of Dish Network’s 14 million US households nearly doubles the availability of Epix, which will hit 30 million households next month.
Along with signing for Epix HD, Dish says other new additions to “the nation’s largest full-time HD line-up” include G4 HD, Headline News HD, History International HD, Nat Geo Wild HD, ShortsHD, Style HD and Turner Classic Movies HD.
“While others repeatedly claim they have the capacity to offer 200 HD channels, only Dish Network has delivered,” crowed Tom Cullen, Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Programming for Dish Network. “
Dish says consumers can enjoy the HD channels and more via “the most advanced DVR technology in the industry,” the ViP 922 SlingLoaded DVR. The world’s only DVR with integrated Sling technology allows Dish Network customers to watch their favorite programs anytime and anywhere via their laptop or mobile device. Customers with a ViP 922 have access to 200 HD channels through a 1-terabyte hard drive – “twice as large as any other distributor’s DVR.”
RBR-TVBR observation: Just how big is the marketplace for movie-driven subscription channels? Having sent Showtime to CBS Corporation in the Viacom-CBS split, Viacom is now trying to get its new service, Epix, onto cable and satellite TV systems. It has now been easy. Is the consumer demand there to support yet another premium channel?
