ESPN360 this week plans to publicly unveil its first foray into online high-definition streaming, showing weekly NBA games in the higher video resolution.
The addition for the broadband network is set to begin Wednesday, with a Phoenix-Los Angeles Lakers contest. Within a matter of months, ESPN360.com HD streaming is expected to grow to represent between 5 percent and 10 percent of all video content on the site.
The HD streaming was first tested internally during the Winter X Games and was scheduled to be demonstrated to an invitation-only group last Friday in New Orleans at the NBA All-Star Tech Summit.
Online HD streaming has quickly become a major industry priority as Internet video consumption and penetration of broadband connections have both mushroomed over the past year. Sister operation ABC is also streaming video content in high definition, though not on a live basis.
Other outfits, such as MLB Advanced Media, are similarly looking to upgrade their data streaming and video resolution to provide a high-definition experience.
