TORONTO – High Fidelity HDTV will launch a pair of new TV channels on Bell ExpressVu on Tuesday.
Rush HD and Equator HD – both Canadian-owned channels with names and programming licensed from Rainbow Media in the U.S. from its all HD DBS service VOOM – are the latest additions to the company’s stable of channels. HiFi launched Treasure HD and Oasis HD in March of this year, also on ExpressVu.
So far, no other carriers have added the all-high definition channels as yet (SaskTel will be adding some, soon), but "negotiations are proceeding," said HiFi president Ken Murphy.
Rush HD is an extreme/action sports channel that will show – in HD detail – surfing, skydiving, snowboarding and other activities (but not races or events) and the stories of people who love to raise their adrenaline levels, said HiFi COO John Panikkar. Like the base jumper who heaved himself into a 1000-foot deep crater in Mexico, broke both legs and then rehabbed so he could do it again.
Equator HD will show the ritual spectacle of world cultures, said Panikkar, and look at "how we impact the planet and how it impacts us."
Watch for stories like the "Bee Travellers" he said, a tale of Chinese beekeepers who travel by train – with their bees and hives – to the best flowering areas and either return with their fortune or lose it all.
Look for the official release on the launch on Tuesday.
– Greg O’Brien
