Some Nice News For HDNet

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This went out today:
FIRST HIGH DEFINITION TV RATINGS PUT HDNET OUT IN FRONT OF THE COMPETITION

HDNet Movies and HDNet’s Original Programming Slate Lead the Way

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dallas (July 10, 2007) – According to TNS Media Research of set top box
data in a major market, HDNet’s two all high definition networks, HDNet
and HDNet Movies achieved a record share of the high definition viewing
audience.

According to the real time data captured by TNS Media, the HDNet
networks excelled in all weekday and weekend dayparts. HDNet’s share
of the high definition viewing audience for the week ending July 1, 2007
is as follows:

Weekends – All Day – 8.6 %
Weekends – Primetime – 7.8%
Weekdays – All Day – 6.1 %
Weekdays – Primetime – 6.3 % ***

HDNet outperformed all other HD-exclusive networks in all dayparts, and
beat both cable and broadcast simulcasts on weekends (including DISC HD, KTLAHD, ESPN HD, TNT HD, PBS HD, UniHD, MTVHD and for the whole day on this weekend, FOX HD).

“We are excited by the performance of HDNet and HDNet Movies,” said Mark
Cuban, president and co-founder of HDNet. “It’s obvious that our lineup
of original programming, led by “Dan Rather Reports”, Friday Nights’
“Guys Night In” our “InFocus” series of documentaries coupled with HDNet
Movies’ stellar lineup of Original Movies from HDNet Films and our
unique Sneak Previews of theatrically released motion pictures, before
they reach theaters, is resonating with high definition viewers”

About HDNet

HDNet (www.hd.net) provides viewers with the best in original comedy,
drama, news, sports and music programming.

HDNet is your exclusive, high-definition home for popular, critically
acclaimed original programming, including television’s only HD news
feature programs “HDNet World Report”, “Dan Rather Reports” featuring
legendary journalist Dan Rather and “NASA on HDNet” (presenting live
shuttle launches through 2010). HDNet presents championship sports
coverage featuring the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer,
NASCAR Grand National Division, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup re-broadcasts, boxing
and Mixed Martial Arts; groundbreaking music programming with the HDNet
Concert Series featuring leading artists and bands including U2, Black
Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani and more, plus original music programs “Sound
Off with Matt Pinfield”, and “True Music w/Katie Daryl”; entertaining
interview shows including “Face 2 Face with Roy Firestone” and “Higher
Definition”, in addition to fun and irreverent lifestyle programming
including “Geek to Freak with Dennis Rodman”, “Deadline!”, “Art Mann
Presents”, and “Get Out!” HDNet is also the exclusive high-definition
home to the critically acclaimed and award winning programs such as the
Emmy Award winning “Arrested Development”, “The Black Donnellys”,
“Blade: The Series”, “Star Trek: Enterprise”, “Dead Like Me”,
“Smallville”, “Joan of Arcadia”, “Boomtown” and “Andy Richter Controls
the Universe”.

HDNet Movies also features a wide selection of major studio theatrical
releases – all uncut, unedited, and appearing in their original aspect
ratio so that HDNet Movies viewers get the best possible home theater
experience.

Only HDNet Movies exclusive “Sneak Previews” bring feature films to
viewers before they premiere in theaters! Some of the HDNet Movies
“Sneak Previews” have included the Academy Award nominated “Enron: The
Smartest Guys in the Room”, Toronto Film Festival nominee “The War
Within”, and “Bubble”, the first of six movies by acclaimed director
Steven Soderbergh and produced exclusively for HDNet Films and, most
recently, “Broken English”, from Zoe Cassavetes, starring Gena Rowlands,
Parker Posey, Drea de Matteo and Griffin Dunne. Upcoming Sneak Previews
include “Quid Pro Quo”, starring Nick Stahl and Vera Farmiga, “Hunter”,
the story of the life and death of infamous gonzo journalist Hunter S.
Thompson from director Alex Gibney and producer Graydon Carter,
“Cashback”, written and produced by Sean Ellis, “Flawless”, starring
Michael Caine and Demi Moore, “Closing Escrow”, a real estate
mockumentary featuring April Barnett and Allen Friedman, and “Mr.
Untouchable”, a documentary film about Leroy ‘Nicky’ Barnes who was the
black Godfather of Harlem in the 1970’s. Many more are to come.

Launched in 2001 by Mark Cuban and General Manager Philip Garvin, the
HDNet networks are available on AT&T, Bright House Networks, Charter
Communications, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Insight, Mediacom, Time Warner
Cable, Verizon and more than 40 NCTC cable affiliate companies. For
more information visit www.hd.net.

** TNS Media Research, Anonymous Digital Return Path Set Top Box Data, the
week ending July 1, 2007. HDNet and HDNet Movies share combination.

###

33 thoughts on “Some Nice News For HDNet”

  1. Pingback: Ocean Minded Laguna Ritz Carlton Laguna Beach Motogp Laguna Tv Broadcast | Frontierbrass

  2. So my cable provider is COX. Cox wants $66/month for a pretty sparse HD offering.

    So no internet HD on the horizon?

    My internet is AT&T.

    Comment by Allen Cole -

  3. HDNET is what my husband love. Clear, crisp picture! Mark, you are THE MAN !

    Comment by Linda -

  4. Yes to new music shows! The fact you all are filming concerts is great and we want more. Some new and interesting content that takes us backstage to meet the artists is awesome.

    The Bootleggers Banquent show Pitts posted is a great idea!

    Go for it!

    Comment by Esteban Roberts -

  5. Hey Mark

    Great News! Congratulations. I kne people will still tune into quality television.

    BTW, MLB needs you as an owner!

    Frank

    Comment by Frank -

  6. Mark …

    Loving the HDNet in my house … how long until we get NBA games on there?

    Comment by Tracy Graven - Basketball News -

  7. It is also great that your picking up AMAZING shows other networks have no idea what to do with other then cancel.

    The Black Donnelys!!!

    I can\’t wait to rewatch this series every week!

    Comment by Kyle Hillman -

  8. Mark –

    Content/Programming that is a sure fire winner? Music! But you don\’t need to do the same old tired \”music video\” or \”concert series\”…. how about a show that gives viewers what they want about their favorite artists? A mix of in-depth interview (not VH1 style) with the artist\’s music…. performed raw. Bootlegger\’s Style……

    I am a principal with an Austin-based production company, Hecho en Cine. This past fall, we set out to create such a show – in HD. When Robert Randolph came through town, he and his crew were nice enough to give us full access before, during and after the show… check this out to get a taste:

    http://v3.blastro.com/bootleggersbanquet.html

    How does this grab you for a new HD-Net series???

    Comment by John Pitts -

  9. How many eyeballs are we talking?

    Comment by Joe Corey -

  10. No doubt HD Net\’s quality and programming is far and above the others. I\’m very impressed you all have such a respectable focus on music oriented shows. I\’d certainly like to see more
    out there, though. MTV and VH1 lost their focus a while back. I think this is a solid gap to fill and you get a young audience that\’s savvy with the HD world. Music and Nature programming seem to work really well.

    Keep up the great work!

    Comment by Esteban Roberts -

  11. I\’ve been an HD enthusiast since 2000.

    Here it is almost 2008 and there are still only a handful of channels to choose programming from, and lets be honest, most network programming sucks.

    HDNET is definitely leading the pack.

    The original programming is great.

    A market that is going totally unnoticed is MotoGP racing coverage. CBS covered the race at Laguna Seca last year…but guess what, it wasn\’t in HD…I think this has something to do with MotoGP\’s camera\’s being used since it is mostly a non-American sport to watch like soccer, even though we have had some greats in the past and Nicky Hayden became the world champion last year over probably the greatest motorcycle racer in the history of the sport, Valentino Rossi.

    Please bring uninterrupted coverage of MotoGP to HDNET!

    I currently pay $40 or $50 for a yearly subscription to stream hour and a half MotoGP races via my computer (Verizon FiOS 15/5mb)…though they claim \”HD video\” the streaming is definitely not close to HD. This is the best that is available though.

    Watching Motorcycle racing in HD would be a dream come true. I would pay $50/yr on top of my HD subscription just to watch that. Of course there are only so many people like me who enjoy watching racing that blows NASCAR out of the water and who do so via the internet to avoid Speedvision/Speed Channel aka NASCAR TV.

    Keep championing HD to the masses.

    Comment by Fred Ferguson -

  12. god i wish HDnet would come to comcast.

    Comment by jason -

  13. Mr. Cuban,

    First off I love HDNet. When I first bought my HD TV I was blown away by how much better the picture and sound looks on HDNet over any other HD Channel. You are really ahead of the curve on it and I love it.

    One thing I would like to see is MotoGP (as someone said above) and UFC fights in HD. UFC and MMA is a huge market that is growing fast and the major thing it lacks is HD coverage. If you could provide that I would be the happiest person alive.

    Comment by Nick Zeranski -

  14. Nice. Now I just need to get an HDTV!

    Comment by Tyler Wilson -

  15. God bless HDNET i enjoyed watching hockey on it this year, really made the game more exciting, and I cant wait till i get to see the cubs play on HDNET 🙂

    Comment by Alex Eyanson -

  16. Keep the HD coming or my huge screen will be a blank hole on the wall.

    Comment by Michelle Steffes -

  17. Congrats to HDNet for it\’s accomplishments in the HD space, the real test comes when DTV gets it\’s new bird running. It slips through the cracks sometimes, but props to Darrell and the folks at HDNet Sports for the the quality product they put out each and every time.

    Keep it up.

    Comment by Big John from LA -

  18. Congrats! I need to get another HD TV so I can really get some high quality video content like HDNet offers.

    Jon Sanderson

    Comment by Jon Sanderson -

  19. Now all you have to do is get rid of Rather and people may take you seriously…….

    Comment by Jim P -

  20. A well-deserved congrats to you and your team, Mark.

    My cable provider offers somewhere around 15 different HD channels in my neck of the woods, and HDNet Movies is the only one I consider absolutely indispensable, to the point where I\’d switch providers without blinking twice if it were dropped from the line-up.

    Comment by Adam -

  21. I love HDNet and HDNet movies! You\’re doing a great job with the programming. I finally get to see The Black Donnellys on my HD TV. I also enjoy Arrested Development, Nothing But Trailers and the concerts.
    Mark, you rock!

    Comment by Deborah -

  22. I\’ve been ready to tell Comcast to take a long walk off a short pier since they took over this area. We did have Time-Warner, which carried HDNet + HDNet Movies. They\’re making a satellite customer of me.

    Comment by Rick -

  23. Mark, You are a really good on picking the right original programming for HdNet.
    One thing i believe would be good too is have a program or channel like the one from http://www.MyCancunTV.com for travelers like me.

    Comment by Christopher -

  24. Related to this and your previous HDNet post, I watch about 90% HD content these days, except sports. It\’s painful to watch a Ranger or Mavs game in standard def, but it still amazes me how few games are broadcast in HD. I live in Denton, so we don\’t get Mavs games on HDNet for some reason. Pair that with FSN\’s horrible HD coverage and I get to see maybe 15% of the Rangers and Mavs in HD. I don\’t understand; I thought we were living in a top-10 TV market here.

    The NFL understands completely; the only content you have to watch in standard def is NFL Europe and some AFL games, and who really cares about those?

    I look forward to the day when I can see ALL Mavs and Rangers games in HD and when the networks start covering the games like they can take advantage of a full 16:9 and not have to squeeze all the content and graphics into the middle 4:3.

    Comment by John -

  25. Congratulations. And thank you for providing some of the best HD content available for those of us with big-ass HD TVs.

    Comment by John Morgan -

  26. Nice job Mark and I wouldn\’t be surprised to see these numbers rise over time. TV is eye candy and HD TV is like eye candy on crack….pleasing to watch for the eyes and you can\’t get enough of it!

    ~b.

    Comment by William Sager -

  27. Congrats Mark. You guys are the fastest growing company in an already fast growing market. Sounds like you guys are on top of the HD world, any big buyouts in the works? Also I\’m not to sure that \”Andy Richter Controls the Universe\” is really a positive for the network.

    Comment by steel buildings -

  28. Good to see HDNet taking off for you Mark. I know the concept is sound and think you guys are starting to see the fruits of your labors. I remember designing infrastructure for your Broadcast.com Data Centers when there was not much to them. Just wondering do you ever talk to Patrick Seaman any more?

    Comment by Jack Spirko -

  29. I read Blog Maverick because regardless of whether or not I agree with you nearly always you have something interesting to say. Or at least something more engaging than a cut-and-pasted press release. If you don\’t have time to add your own commentary, Mark, at least delete the boilerplate.

    Just my two cents. Cheers.

    Comment by Dewey -

  30. So, when do you think, if ever, Comcast will pick you guys up?

    Comment by Brent -

  31. Outstanding news.

    In referance to my comments on Metcalfe\’s, HDNet has established strong content based programming. The demand for some of your programming is amazing. The NHL is a very VERY high quality product! MLS is very popular with 6-25 year olds (which ironiclly is the next generation of T.V…HDTV Owners). Nascar Grand National Division is a more personal/regional version of racing attracting local fans, Dan Rather, like Ronald Regan, even if you don\’t agree, good man always make you think. Music, movies, the whole line up is strong.

    The only thing that would make HDNet unsurpasable, more personalised programming. Make athletes, artists, actors, projects and news more real by more intimate interviews in real life settings.

    That is where 8 of my T.V. ideas reside, but you have to contact me for the pitch 🙂

    Comment by Jerry R. Reynolds -

  32. \”HDNet outperformed all other HD-exclusive networks in all dayparts.\”

    what networks did you beat?

    Comment by Matt Rutledge -

  33. You\’re doing great work, keep it up!

    Comment by Doug Stewart -

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