OTHER TECH

1. Be Timely Turner's 2007 HD launches of TBS and CNN were successful partly because TBS had rights to broadcast MLB playoffs in high-def just in time for the channel's launch. CNN HD, meanwhile, launched into an election coverage bonanza. Neither channel shows all HD all the time. 2. Broadcast Sports, Movies, and Pretty Pictures Viewers consistently rank sports and movies in the most-wanted list of HD content. Movies almost always look good, since they're shot on film - a natural high-def, wide screen format. HD Nature shows - such as those on the Discovery HD Theater channel - have also found a new audience. 3. Offer Brand New HD Content All-HD networks - like HDNet and Mojo - that show exclusive, original programming have been around since the early days of HD and appeal to carriers because of the high percentage of true HD content. The costs associated with using the HD format at a brand new network, while still prohibitive, aren't as steep as they would be to bring HD to a legacy network with decades of archived standard-definition shows (as would be the case if TV Land decided to convert all those old film-based sitcoms to HD). Everything at pure-HD channels is new. QVC will likely benefit from this when it launches its all-HD channel since it will show a constant stream of new products to buy. 4. Spend Money Speaking of QVCHD, carriers should also benefit financially from this new channel, since shopping networks traditionally pay carriers for placement. 5. Use HD Somehow - Even If It's Lame Many networks want to make the move to a big, high-definition canvas, but aren't ready to fork over the fees associated with an upgrade. But that's okay, since there are ways to cheat and since carriers take interest in unusual uses of high-definition bandwidth. CNBC HD, for instance, doesn't show high-def footage, but does employ high-def graphics, tickers, and crawls (while the news network's talking heads are relegated to one corner of the screen in standard-def). 6. Offer Big Plans Carriers aren't too put off by new HD networks that boast only a tiny percentage of true high-def content as long as the network talks convincingly and thoroughly about their plans to up the proportion in coming months - even years. "That's the nature of HD programming right now - it's time to convert the networks but it costs money and time," says Comcast's Harrar. 7. Simulcast Broadcasting both HD and standard-def versions of a channel is a plus for carriers - which don't have to double up on marketing costs - for networks, which don't have to program 24-hours per day of two channels - and for viewers - who are less likely to get confused about what time a program airs. 8. Employ Muscle The above seven ways to elbow one's channel into the HD zone all came from carriers we talked to. But there's one more tool they whip out - and this one may be most important of all. Analysts note that business concerns, historical relationships, and complex negotiations determine which HD channels go on-air fastest. Carriers look for a good price per customer when negotiating with a network, and because these are the same consolidated media companies that carriers have dealt with for decades, previous agreements play into HD negotiations. This means a carrier might be required to broadcast a mediocre HD channel as part of a bundle. One network's deal can preclude a carrier from adding a competitor's channel, and networks can threaten to yank popular channels if a carrier doesn't agree to certain terms. Carriers and networks aren't likely to disclose negotiation tactics like these, but they're all part of the business - the business of getting you crappy HD, that is.