MUMBAI: Starz Entertainment announced the launch of its new High Definition (HD) premium movie channels, Starz Comedy HD, Starz Edge HD and Starz Kids and Family HD.

The new HD offerings together with the flagship Starz HD channel constitute the largest package of premium HD channels currently available on television.

The three new channels are high definition East Coast feeds of the Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, and Starz Kids and Family. They join the flagship Starz HD channels, which are available in East and West Coast feeds. All five Starz HD offerings are presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, a powerful audio format that provides up to 5.1 separate channels of crystal-clear digital surround sound that brings entertainment to life.

Beginning today, the new channels, along with the flagship Starz HD channels, are available at no extra cost to DIRECTV’s Starz Super Pack subscribers with DIRECTV’s newest generation of advanced HD set-top boxes and HD DVRs. DIRECTV is the first affiliate to offer the new channels to its subscribers.

Movies currently airing exclusively in True HD on the Starz HD channels and services include: Disney and Pixar’s Cars, Scary Movie 4, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Gridiron Gang, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Top HD titles coming soon include: Ghost Rider and The Pursuit of Happyness.

“We are delighted to be at the forefront of offering multiple HD channels to our affiliates and consumers. We commend DIRECTV for being first to market in carrying all five of the Starz HD channels and meeting the growing consumer demand for quality HD programming. Leichtman Research Group research shows that 55 per cent of people who have (or are interested in getting) HDTV are likewise interested in receiving premium networks in HD. Starz is meeting this growing demand in the HD marketplace with exclusive subscription movie programming. HD is a key part of the Starz business strategy and product mix — both for linear channels and on-demand — and we look forward to additional opportunities to bring even more movies to market in the future,” said Starz Entertainment president and chief operating officer Bill Myers.

Starz Entertainment is the exclusive subscription television and broadband provider of first-run films from leading Hollywood studios including Walt Disney Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Overture Films, Revolution Studios, Miramax Films, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Pixar, TriStar, Screen Gems, Sony Classics and Warren Miller Films. Select first-run theatrical films from The Weinstein Company, IFC and Yari Film Group are also available for subscription television and broadband exclusively on Starz Entertainment services.