Cablevision gives us a nudge to note that the NY-area cable operator has decided to stop selling an analog expanded basic tier by the end of this year. "We will be the first major cable company in the nation to stop selling analog expanded basic," spokesman Jim Maiella tells us. Since analog signals take up ten times the bandwidth of digital, the transition can't come soon enough for many carriers, who are competing with the already all-digital services from carriers like DirecTV and Verizon.

According to Cablevision, more than 91% of their 3.1 million TV customers receive digital service, the highest rate of digital adoption in the country. About 5% of their customers receive analog expanded basic service, and these customers will be grandfathered (via analog simulcasts) -- and won't have to act to change their service. New customers will only be able to choose from Cablevision digital tiers.

"The vast majority of our customers have already embraced this standard, and Cablevision's move away from analog expanded basic for new customers is the next logical step in an evolution that will deliver clear benefits including more programming, particularly HD, and additional choice," says John Trierweiler, Cablevision's senior vice president of product management.