Blockbuster Games’ Promotion Includes Blu-ray Bundle
Blockbuster, the largest U.S. movie rental chain, announced a games promotion this week that includes a $500 bundling of products including a Sony PlayStation 3 console, which plays Blu-ray DVDs. Along with the PS3, customers get the “Spider-Man 3” Blu-ray disc, a “Transformers” game, a Blu-ray DVD remote, an HDMI cable and a card allowing either one weekly Blu-ray DVD or PS3 game rental for 12 consecutive weeks, Blockbuster said.

Verizon Boosts FiOS TV Subscribers 28% in Q1
Verizon said this week it boosted the number of subscribers for its FiOS fiber-optic television service by 263,000, or 28%, to 1.2 million during the first quarter. The company, which launched FiOS in September 2005, has tripled its subscribers in the past year.

Fox News Channel Launches in HD Today
News Corp.’s Fox News Channel will begin broadcasting in high definition in some U.S. regions starting today. Time Warner Cable will air Fox News Channel’s HD broadcasts in parts of New York and Texas, the network said this week in a statement.

Cablevision Gets Rights to Distribute Hallmark Movie Channel in HD
New York-area cable television provider Cablevision acquired the rights to distribute Crown Media Holdings’ Hallmark Movie Channel in high definition, Crown Media said this week. The agreement was part of Cablevision’s distribution renewal of Crown Media’s Hallmark networks.

New York’s WPIX Starts News Broadcasts in HD
WPIX-TV, The CW’s New York affiliate, began airing its morning and evening news broadcasts in high definition, Newsday reports. WPIX’s studios have been upgraded to handle HD, and the station will be able to show field reports in HD within a few months, the newspaper says.

Voom HD Will Start Selling DVDs on Amazon.com
Voom HD, the high-definition television network owned by Cablevision, will begin selling videos of its shows through Amazon.com this summer. About 50 DVD titles, ranging from travel-related Equator HD programs to art-related Gallery HD shows, will be available on Amazon.com, the world’s largest Internet retailer.

Democrats Tap Microsoft as Convention’s HD Web Content Provider
Microsoft was named the official high-definition Web content provider for the Democratic National Convention, which takes place Aug. 25-28 in Denver. Microsoft said its Silverlight Web application, along with networks provided by Level 3 Communications, will allow viewers to customize their video programming during the four-day convention.

HD Shopping on QVC
QVC launched a high-definition version of its cable shopping channel today, reports Multichannel News. Negotiations are taking place with potential affiliates for QVC HD, the paper says.