High-definition television in the United States

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High definition television (HDTV) in the United States was introduced in 1998 and has since become increasingly popular and dominant in the television market. Hundreds of HD channels are available in millions of homes and businesses both terrestrially and via subscription services such as satellite, cable and IPTV. HDTV has quickly become the standard, with about 85% of all TVs used being HD as of 2018. In the US, the 720p and 1080i formats are used for linear channels, while 1080p is available on a limited basis, mainly for pay per view and video on demand content. Some networks have also began transmitting content at 1080p via ATSC 3.0 multiplex channels, with CBS and NBC affiliates being the main stations that transmit at 1080p.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began soliciting proposals for a new television standard for the U. S. in the late 1980s and later decided to ask companies competing to create the standard to pool their resources and work together, forming what was known as the Grand Alliance in 1993. On July 23, 1996, WRAL TV (the then CBS affiliate in Raleigh, North Carolina; now affiliated with NBC) became the first television station in the United States to broadcast a digital television signal. HDTV sets became available in the U. S. in 1998 and broadcasts began around November 1998. The first public HDTV broadcast was of the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery and John Glenn's return to space; that broadcast was made possible in part by the Harris Corporation. The first commercial broadcast of a local sporting event in HD was during Major League Baseball's Opening Day on March 31, 1998, the Texas Rangers against the Chicago White Sox from The Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, TX. The telecast was produced by LIN Productions, and overseen by LIN Productions president and Texas Rangers television executive producer Lee Spieckerman. The game was also the inaugural telecast on the digital channel of Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas NBC affiliate KXAS channel 5. The event was simultaneously shown via satellite at a reception attended by members of congress, the FCC and members of the industry in Washington, DC. This telecast was also the first commercial HD broadcast in the state of Texas. The first major sporting event broadcast nationwide in HD was Super Bowl XXXIV, broadcast by ABC on January 30, 2000. By the 2014–15 season every network show producing new episodes had transitioned to high definition.

Satellite television companies in the United States, such as Dish Network and DirecTV, started to carry HD programming in 2003. Satellite transmissions in the U. S. use various forms of PSK modulation. A separate tuner is required to receive HD satellite broadcasts. Cable television companies in the U. S. generally prefer to use 256 QAM to transmit HDTV. Many of the newer HDTVs with integrated digital tuners include support for decoding 256 QAM in addition to 8VSB for OTA digital. Cable television companies started carrying HDTV in 2003. Currently, HD programming is carried by all major television networks in nearly all DMAs, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, The CW, MyNetworkTV, Telemundo, Univision, and UniMás; and on many independent stations. All but a select few of cable networks offer an HD broadcast to cable and satellite companies. HD programming on broadcast and premium networks such as HBO and Showtime had Dolby Digital 5.1.

Name First launched HD service HD Format Letterbox/Pillarbox Category Type A&E 1080i N/A Entertainment Cable ABC 720p Pillarbox (2001–2016)Letterbox (2016–present) Broadcast AccuWeather Network 1080i N/A News Cable Adult Swim Pillarbox (2007–2013)Letterbox (2013–present) Entertainment Altitude N/A Sports Regional AMC Entertainment American Heroes Channel Animal Planet Lifestyle AT&T SportsNet 1080p Sports – Regional ASPiRE 1080i Entertainment AWE 1080i LifestyleAXS TV EntertainmentAzteca Broadcast – Spanish BroadcastBBC America Entertainment Cable BBC World News News beIN Sports 720p Sports beIN Sports en Español Sports – Spanish BET 1080i Entertainment BET Her Big Ten Network 720p Sports College Bloomberg TV 1080i News Boomerang (TV network) 720p Family Bravo 1080i Lifestyle Cars. TV Sports Cartoon Network Pillarbox (2007–2013)Letterbox (2013–present) Family CBS Pillarbox (1998–2018)Letterbox (2018–present) Broadcast CBS Sports Network Sports Cable Cinemax (MoreMax, ActionMax, ThrillerMax, 5starMax, MovieMax, OuterMax, MaxLatino) Premium Movies Premium CMT N/A Entertainment Cable CNBC News CNN Comedy Central Entertainment Comedy. TV Cooking Channel Lifestyle Crime & Investigation Network 720p Pillarbox Entertainment The CW 1080i Broadcast Daystar N/A 720p Religion Cable Destination America 1080i Lifestyle Discovery Channel Entertainment Discovery en Español Spanish Discovery Familia Spanish Discovery Family Family Discovery Life Lifestyle Disney Channel720pPillarbox (2008–2017)Letterbox (2017–present)Family Disney Junior Pillarbox (2012–2017)Letterbox (2017–present) Disney XDPillarbox (2009–2017)Letterbox (2017–present) E! 1080i Lifestyle Epix (Epix 2, Epix Hits) Premium Movies ES. TV Entertainment Cable ESPN 720p Sports ESPN2 ESPNews ESPNU ESPN Deportes Sports – Spanish EVINE Live 1080i Shopping Flix Premium Movies Premium FM Music Cable Food Network Lifestyle Fox 720p Pillarbox (2004–2007)Letterbox (2007–present) Broadcast Fox Business Network News Cable Fox Deportes N/A Sports – Spanish Fox News Channel News FS1 N/A Sports FS2 Fox Soccer Plus Fox Sports Networks (All Networks) Sports – Regional Freeform Family Fuse N/A 1080i Music FX 720p Entertainment FXM Movies FXX Entertainment FYI Lifestyle GAC Family 1080i Family GAC Living Lifestyle Galavisión Spanish Gol TV Sports – Spanish Golf Channel Sports Game Show Network Entertainment Hallmark Channel N/A Family Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Movies HBO (HBO2, HBO Comedy, HBO Family, HBO Latino, HBO Signature, HBO Zone) Premium Movies Premium HDNet Movies Movies Cable HGTV Lifestyle History Entertainment HLN News HSN Shopping HSN 2 IFC Movies Investigation Discovery N/A Entertainment Ion 720p Broadcast Justice Central N/A 1080i News Cable Lifetime Lifestyle LMN Logo TV Magnolia Network MASN (MASN2) Sports – Regional MAVTV Sports Mega TV Broadcast – Spanish MGM HD Movies Premium Midco Sports NetworkN/A Sports – Regional Cable Minnesota Channel Entertainment Broadcast MLB Network 720p Sports Cable MLB StrikeZone Motor Trend 1080i The Movie Channel (The Movie Channel Xtra) Premium Movies Premium MoviePlex (IndiePlex, RetroPlex) MSG (MSG Plus, MSG Western New York) Sports – Regional Cable MSNBC News MTV Entertainment MTV2 MTV Live Music MyDestination. TV N/A Lifestyle MyNetworkTV 720p Broadcast Nat Geo Wild Lifestyle Cable National Geographic Entertainment NBA TV 1080i Sports NBC Pillarbox (1999–2002)Letterbox (2002–present) Broadcast NBC Sports Regional Networks Sports – Regional Cable NBC Universo Spanish NESN Sports – Regional Newsmax TV News NewsNation N/A NFL Network Sports NFL RedZone NHL Network Nick at Nite Pillarbox (2007 2020)Letterbox (2020 present) Family Nickelodeon Nicktoons Pillarbox (2013–2020)Letterbox (2020–present) Nick Jr. Channel One America News Network News Outdoor Channel Sports Ovation Lifestyle OWN Oxygen Pac 12 Network Sports – College Paramount Network N/A Entertainment PBS BothBroadcast Pets. TV N/A Lifestyle Cable Playboy TV Adult Pop N/A Lifestyle QVC Shopping Recipe. TV N/A Lifestyle Reelz 720p Entertainment Revolt 1080i MusicRFD TVLifestyle Science Lifestyle SEC Network 720p Sports College ShortsTV 1080i Movies Showtime (Showtime 2, Showcase, Showtime Extreme, SHO×BET, Showtime Next, Showtime Women) Premium Movies Premium Smithsonian Channel Lifestyle Cable SNY Sports – Regional Sony Movie Channel Movies Spectrum SportsNet LA Sports – Regional Spectrum SportsNet N/A Sportsman Channel Sports Starz (Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, Starz Kids and Family, Starz InBlack, Starz Cinema) Premium Movies Premium Starz Encore (Starz Encore, Starz Encore Action, Starz Encore Black, Starz Encore Classic, Starz Encore Suspense) SundanceTV Movies Cable Syfy Entertainment TBS Pillarbox (2007–2010)Letterbox (2010–present) TCM Movies Telemundo Broadcast – Spanish Broadcast TeenNick Family Cable Tennis Channel Sports TLC Lifestyle TNT Entertainment Travel Channel N/A Lifestyle truTV Entertainment TUDN Sports – Spanish TV Land Family TV One Entertainment UniMás Broadcast – Spanish Broadcast Universal Kids Pillarbox (2010–2013)Letterbox (2013–present) Family Cable Univision Broadcast – Spanish Broadcast UP tv N/A Family Cable USA Network Entertainment Viceland Lifestyle VH1 Entertainment WE tv N/A Lifestyle The Weather Channel News WeatherNation TV World Fishing Network Sports YES Sports – Regional