Cablevision Airing YES in Hi Def

Cablevision Systems picked up the YES Network (Yankees
Entertainment & Sports) in high definition it was announced Wednesday, bringing the cable operator's total HD offerings to 17 channels.

It launches Thursday at 7 p.m. with the Yankees playing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The channel will be offered to Cablevision's digital customers on channel 715 and will feature Yankees and New Jersey Nets home games as well as select away games against The New York Mets and Boston Red Sox.

"We are committed to delivering an extensive and compelling array of high-definition programming to our iO digital cable customers at no additional charge, both as a significant value add and key differentiator over satellite television providers that offer less HD and force customers to pay additional charges in
order to see it," said Kristin Dolan, Cablevision's senior vp of product management.

Cablevision added nearly 100,000 high definition customers in 2004, bringing total customer count to 133,000 at the year's end.