Professional and college sports are well represented in HDTV. ESPN HD is currently doing 3 to 4 live events per week and will soon have more. In April, the network will begin broadcasting studio programs like SportsCenter in HDTV. HDNet offers NHL (National Hockey League) and MLS (Major League Soccer) games, and INHD has MLB (Major League Baseball and NBA (National Basketball Association) matchups (with limited availability). Both HDNet and INHD offer collegiate men’s and women’s sports. For the die-hard pro-football fan, DirecTV has promised to show all games in HD on the ever-popular NFL Sunday Ticket. A growing number of regional sports networks are coming online with HDTV. Check with your local cable company for details.

Many other popular cable and satellite entertainment networks offer select programs in HDTV but don’t have dedicated HD channels of their own. USA Network, for example, has provided HD coverage of the U.S. Tennis Open’s early rounds, the Masters Tournament, and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. E! network's first HD production was an 8-hour Oscar preshow (yes, eight solid hours of Joan and Melissa Rivers in HDTV!) broadcast live from the Red Carpet. NBC Cable Networks is said to be considering bonus Athens Summer Olympics coverage on a separate HD channel, in addition to primary HDTV coverage on NBC and Bravo HD+. TNT has provided NBA playoff and All-Star games in HDTV, and the NFL Network offered Playbook: HD Game of the Week. Hallmark, A&E, The History Channel, The Biography Channel, The Tennis Channel and The Outdoor Channel are all producing shows in HD for other networks. Many of these programs are available as special events on INHD and on DirecTV and Dish Network’s special-events channels.