DBS Sees Daylight in HD Delays

Cable World,  June 9, 2003  

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Byline: ANDREA FIGLER

Dale Barrett wants his HDTV. And he wants it now.

But, as a subscriber to Adelphia Communications, the Boeing software engineer may have to wait another few months, even though the cable operator had promised to roll out high-definition television service by last month.

Pressure is mounting on Adelphia and other cable operators to live up to their HDTV promises: Barrett, like many early adopters, can turn to DirecTV for HD service starting in July. Last week, the direct broadcast satellite provider announced the launch of its HD tier, a move geared to steal disgruntled subscribers from cable, says Bob Marsocci, DirecTV spokesman.

"We do look at, obviously, what the competition is offering and we want to stay as competitive as we can," Marsocci says. "We felt the timing was right to launch this product."

Adi Kishore, a Yankee Group analyst, says that Adelphia's delay is "a benefit for DBS."

In March, Adelphia held an HDTV preview party at an Anaheim Angels game for a scheduled launch in May. Barrett's hometown of Yorba Linda, Calif., was one of the first - if not the first - territories in which Adelphia planned to launch HDTV.

However, debtor-in-possession financing for new equipment - such as the technology needed for HD - was not approved by the bankruptcy court until late last month. The Southern California region also had a major management shakeup.

Additionally, judging from calls made by Barrett and three calls made by Cable World, customer service representatives for Adelphia are not yet familiar with when or how HDTV will roll out.

Several cable operators across the country have similar problems with their representatives, according to responses to a news group post about cable's HDTV rollouts, which also included a complaint about a delay from another operator.

"I don't think the problem is rolling out the service," Yankee Group's Kishore says. "I think the problem is educating the CSRs. That's hardly new for the cable industry. If you look at customer satisfaction for cable versus DBS, they've [DBS] been way ahead for years."

Adelphia has not yet educated its customer service representatives because it doesn't have an HD package yet, says Bob Gold, head of the public relations firm representing Adelphia's Southern California region. Executives are still determining price points, he adds. The service is about 30 days behind schedule, and is now set to launch after the July 4 weekend, Gold says.

Tom Carlock, Adelphia's regional VP of law and public policy, adds that the region wants to make sure they get the service right: "Ultimately the customer will respect us better for doing it right and delivering it right to them in the first place."

THE NEXT QUESTION:

*Will EchoStar Communications launch an HD tier, and at what price?

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