LAKE COUNTY – Mediacom customers in Lake County gained a 28-percent boost to the Family Cable channels available in high-definition (HD) reception as a result of equipment added to Mediacom’s network last week.

The company added nine more cable networks to the selection of HD channels included automatically as part of Family Cable.

The new HD channels include cable news networks MSNBC HD at channel 854 and Headline News (HLN) HD at channel 868.

Also included in the new additions are Travel HD, Comedy Central HD, Nickelodeon HD and others.

The HD channels are additions to Mediacom’s Family Cable service, available at no added cost to customers equipped for HD television viewing.

In total, 41 HD channels located between 802 and 877 are available as a regular part of HD Family Cable.

Mediacom’s area operations manager, Shawn Swatosh, said that consumer demand for high-definition television continues to grow, and Mediacom’s channel expansion was planned to provide the cable networks where consumers spend most of their viewing hours.

“Just ask any electronics store manager in Lake County, and you’ll hear that consumer demand for HDTV continues to grow,” Swatosh said. “The world of digital TV and high-def are great improvements in television, and our Mediacom commitment is to deliver the most popular channels in HD as an added value to Family Cable. We want to help customers maximize their viewing and get the most from their investment in HD televisions.”

High-definition channels new to Mediacom HD Family Cable, as of July 14 include:

Ch. 854 – MSNBC HD

Ch. 865 – AMC HD

Ch. 866 – Travel Channel HD

Ch. 868 – HLN (Headline News) HD

Ch. 869 – truTV HD

Ch. 870 – Spike HD

Ch. 871 – Comedy Central HD

Ch. 872 – MTV HD

Ch. 877 – Nickelodeon HD

The additions to Family Cable are automatic and there is no added cost for customers equipped for HDTV.

To view the higher-resolution HD channels, Family Cable customers need to use an HD television connected to a Mediacom HD cable box or cable card. Customers who subscribe to premium movie channels also receive those channels in HD. Viewers with basic cable service can see HD versions of eight local broadcast stations between channels 802 and 817. (Basic cable does not include the “expanded” channel line-up of Family Cable.)

Mediacom Communications is the nation’s seventh largest cable television company and one of the leading cable operators focused on serving the smaller cities and towns in the United States. Mediacom Communications offers a wide array of broadband products and services, including traditional video services, digital television, video-on-demand, DVRs, HDTV, high-speed data access and phone service.