What is the usual process for cable companies to add HD channels? I have Charter Communications and was asking what channels they plan on adding this year in my area, (SC) and of course they would/could not tell me. I tried to dig deeper as to why Discovery HD was not availalbe in my area (should have been one of the first channels avaiable, IMO) and this is the response:

I am sorry to inform you that our company still has no specific time schedule as to when addtional high definition channels will be added in your area. You may wonder and ask, "Why is Charter so slow in adding up HD channels in my area?" Well, adding high-definition channels is not an immediate matter. As much as possible, Charter would very much like to add more HD channels in serviceable areas, however, there are also some constraints that hinder us from immediately adding HD channels. First of all, a station must transmit a high-definition signal; Charter is required by federal law to obtain permission from the broadcast station to carry broadcast television signals. Then, Charter Communications must have permission from the local broadcast stations to carry their HD signals. However, some parent companys of local broadcast stations that broadcast high-definition signals demand that Charter (and therefore our customers) pay extra to carry their high definition signal, which are broadcasted for free over the airwaves. Charter believes it is unfair to make our customers pay extra for an HD signal that is broadcasted over the public airwaves for free. Thus, the current nill line-up of available HD channels in some areas.

So is that a "line" or is there some truth, and could it have to do with bandwith?

Thanks.

there's some truth to that, although they're placing blame on the networks which is false. Most of the reason cablecos dont have as much HD is due to a lack of bandwidth, and a lack of desire to upgrade their cable plants to get more bandwidth. Most cablecos are switching to SDB/SDV, and that takes time to implement. From what I can tell, bandwidth is the most frequent reason for lack of HD, not carriage agreements.