TORONTO – The first two channels from the Alliance Atlantis stable to make the high definition conversion will be Showcase and National Geographic Channel, the company announced this morning.
The channels will be available on December 19, 2006
"The time is right to bring these two leading networks to the high definition screen," said Norm Bolen, Alliance Atlantis’ executive vice-president of content. "Canadians are quickly embracing the HDTV format."
However, producers are not quite there yet. The two HD channels will not be 100% HD at launch. Showcase HD is expected to feature 60% of its schedule in high definition, with almost all of prime time presented in HD, Steve Rayment, vice-president, marketing and publicity, fact and BBC Networks, told Cartt.ca in an e-mail. On National Geographic Channel HD, the schedule will be about 50% HD.
The current shortage in HD content won’t last long, predicted Bolen. "This is a short-term problem all broadcasters are facing," he told Cartt.ca. Even Trailer Park Boys, the hand-shot fake-reality show just wrapped up its seventh season – shot in HD for the first time.
National Geographic Channel HD will launch featuring such shows as Seconds From Disaster, Megastructures, and Dog Whisperer, plus Mysteries of the Tornado and Hollywood Science. Showcase Television’s HD lineup will include CSI and CSI: Miami, along with Rescue Me, Weeds, The L-Word, Dead Like Me, plus its newest Canadian series, Rent-a-Goalie.
Choosing these channels as the first to go HD was a no-brainer, said Bolen. Much of the NGC content from its U.S. partner is in HD, he explained, adding: "The nature of the service and the quality of the images are perfect for HD."
As for Showcase, which is stocked with drama, it’s the company’s flagship channel and had to make the HD jump as soon as it could, said Bolen, even if most of its library content will be up-converted.
– Greg O’Brien
www.nationalgeographic.ca
www.Showcase.ca
www.allianceatlantis.com
