• Cablevision adds ESPN2 to HD lineup
By Mike Robuck
Cablevision has added ESPN2 to its growing roster of HD channels. With the addition of ESPN2 HD to Cablevision’s HD programming lineup, the cable operator now offers 45 HD programming services at no additional cost to subscribers in its tri-state footprint.
“Cablevision is pleased to add ESPN2 HD to our high-definition programming lineup, as we approach college football bowl season and the exciting sporting events that kick off the New Year,” said John Trierweiler, Cablevision’s SVP of product management. “ESPN2 HD is a terrific addition to a high-definition programming lineup that has more than doubled over the last year, as our base of HD customers has continued to grow.
• Charter ups St. Louis call center personnel
By Traci Patterson
Charter Communications has expanded the customer care call center in its headquarter city of St. Louis by 35 percent, adding 187 seats. The MSO has increased its call center personnel by 55 percent since 2006. And according to Joe Stackhouse, SVP of customer operations for Charter, the operator has upped its technical personnel by 12 percent – or about 500 people – year-over-year.
• UTStarcom deploying RollingStream in Taiwan
By Traci Patterson
UTStarcom Inc. has signed a contract with Markwell Industrial Co., a provider of cable and Internet services in Taiwan. The operator will deploy UTStarcom’s RollingStream end-to-end IPTV solution in the country in order to offer IPTV-enabled triple-play services.
UTStarcom’s RollingStream solution currently supports more than 600,000 IPTV subscribers worldwide, and the system maintains a total system capacity of more than one million subscribers thanks to recent deployments in China, India and Japan. UTStarcom is in discussions with additional Taiwanese cable operators, and the company expects to surpass more than one million IPTV subscribers in the country by 2009.
• Toshiba, Sharp expand ties in making LCDs
By Traci Patterson
Japanese electronics rivals Toshiba Corp. and Sharp Corp. have expanded their ties in making liquid crystal displays (LCDs), according to the Associated Press.
Toshiba will purchase LCD panels from Sharp for TVs that are 32 inches or larger, and Sharp will buy more computer chips for use in LCDs from Toshiba. The companies will cooperate on developing TV technology and products, but the details still need to be ironed out.