Pegasus delayed. Looks like a few more months(GTE currently using GI boxes)......................
mediacentral.com
GTE Launches Service in Florida Franchises, Takes on Time Warner
(Cable World) GTE continued its aggressive video rollout last week, announcing that it has launched digital service in its Florida franchises that serve some 150,000 subscribers.
The new digital tier in Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Safety Harbor, Dunedin and Oldsmar will boost the telco's video offering from 79 to 114 channels, as well as add 30-plus audio channels and StarSight's onscreen television guide.
In an effort to "seed" the market, GTE will launch the service with a two-month special: During the first 60 days, all subscribers will receive the full digital package for $36.95 per month.
"We're going to put a digital sampler out in the market," said Dick Jones, a GTE Video product manager. "We want to get users accustomed to the offering."
GTE also said it will supply any subscriber who takes a premium channel with a free NextLevel Systems DCT-1000 digital set-top unit. That offer will extend beyond the sampler period, according to GTE spokesperson Brian Blevins, who added that it was logistically easier to give boxes to any premium subscriber than limit distribution to those who order the digital tier.
After the sampler period, GTE will offer multiplexed premium channels for the same price customers currently pay -- about $10.95 depending on the network -- for a single premium. Extended basic service will remain $25.95.
Among the basic networks added to GTE's digital tier: Fox Sports Americas, ESPNews, Outdoor Life, Speedvision, Classic Sports Network, Independent Film Channel, Ovation, Country Music Television, America's Health Network, Animal Planet and C-SPAN2.
Time Warner Cable, which competes with GTE in most of those areas, is ready to launch digital service. However, it's waiting for Pegasus set-top boxes, which should be delivered in the next few months, according to Linda Chambers, the MSO's VP of business affairs in Florida.
"We've already upgraded and we're certainly capable of launching," she said. "We just thought we'd wait for Pegasus because it's going to give customers the real video-on-demand."
In the meantime, Time Warner is focusing on its local, 24-hour news channel scheduled to launch later this month, as well as its Road Runner cable modem service, which has launched in several areas overbuilt by GTE. |
