The Best TV Gets Even Better - Verizon FiOS TV Adds New Channels

The Best TV Gets Even Better - Verizon FiOS TV Adds New Channels

More Than 60 New Channels - Including at Least 25 in HD - to Be Added This Summer

NEW YORK, June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon FiOS TV customers will get even more great programming this summer as Verizon adds more than 60 new channels to the lineup, including high-definition (HD), sports and multicultural content. Verizon plans to expand its lineup to offer by the end of the year up to 150 HD channels, which will include all available major HD programming. Other Verizon HD choices include hundreds of video-on-demand (VOD) titles per month, with 1,000 HD VOD titles by the end of the year.

"The popularity of HD, sports and multicultural content continues to grow, and we're committed to leading the industry in the scope and quality of our programming offerings," said Terry Denson, vice president -- FiOS TV content and programming. "We are aggressively acquiring high-quality programming in both standard and high definition that appeals to a broad array of viewers. Because we deliver FiOS TV over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network straight to customers' homes, the quality of our picture and sound is unmatched, giving customers the best possible TV viewing experience."

Verizon will roll out the new content, region by region, to areas where FiOS TV is available, beginning by early July. The new channels will be activated in FiOS systems across the country over the following few months.

Included in the new content will be more than 25 high-definition channels, bringing the total number of HD channels to between 52 and 65, depending on the customer's location.

Customers will see some of their favorite channels in HD, including Lifetime, Animal Planet, TLC, Science Channel and Smithsonian Channel. Those who subscribe to FiOS TV's Movie Package - which already includes more than 40 channels from Showtime, Starz, The Movie Channel, Encore, Sundance Channel and IFC, as well as access to hundreds of free movies on VOD -- will see a total of five new HD channels from Starz and Showtime.

Verizon also puts a high priority on providing all major sports programming and offering as much as possible in HD.

"We understand the importance of sports content to our customers, and we continue to work hard to bring the best in sports to FiOS TV," said Denson. "We plan to give our customers a front seat to watch some of their favorite teams this year."

Consumers will see more sports programming on the FiOS TV lineup, as Verizon continues to work with programmers to provide new sports content. One of the many channels that will be added is Setanta Sports, a premium channel dedicated to bringing European and International soccer and rugby to U.S.-based fans. Verizon will be the only cable provider to make Setanta available at the time of launch. Verizon also plans to offer a number of sports channels in HD, including Outdoor Channel, which provides programming that promotes traditional outdoor activities like fishing, hunting and shooting sports.

Verizon will also add approximately 15 multicultural channels to the FiOS TV lineup, including leading channels for Arabic, Portuguese and Russian audiences, among others. These new channels continue to make FiOS TV an outlet for emerging and independent networks to showcase their diverse programming.

Much of the multicultural content comes from WorldTV, a division of content management and delivery company GlobeCast, which previously signed a distribution deal with Verizon for top-tier international channels. The new GlobeCast WorldTV international television channels include MBT (Arabic), RTPI (Portuguese) and RTR Planeta (Russian).

Verizon's FiOS TV service offers a broad collection of all-digital programming, with more than 400 total channels and 10,000 video-on-demand titles, 70 percent of which are free. The VOD library also includes an increasing number of HD titles. FiOS TV is currently available to more than 6.5 million homes in 13 states. In the little more than two years since the service first launched, the company has signed up more than 1.2 million FiOS TV customers who enjoy hundreds of digital video and music channels, high- definition linear and on-demand programming, the nation's largest collection of video-on-demand content, a robust interactive media guide, and other advanced features. For more information on FiOS TV, visit http://www.verizon.com/fiostv.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) , headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 67 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employed a diverse workforce of approximately 232,000 as of the end of the first quarter 2008 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of $93.5 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

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Source: Verizon

CONTACT: Heather Wilner, +1-212-321-8333, heather.b.wilner@verizon.com

Web site: http://www.verizon.com/
http://www.verizon.com/fiostv

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Profile: International Entertainment