Why does my HDTV's QAM tuner pick up the HD equivalents of local broadcast stations over cable TV, but not the HD equivalents of cable networks like ESPN?

I just upgraded from basic "broadcast-replacement" cable to "standard" cable to get ESPN/ESPN2 so can watch the World Cup, and I noticed that although we get our local network affiliate stations (ABC/CBS/FOX/NBC/PBS) in both standard definition and HD - which was true even before the upgrade - the "new" channels we now have are only in standard definition. Having had full digital cable and HD in the past, I know that HD versions of ESPN/ESPN2 exist - are they just sent out scrambled, not in clear QAM like the broadcast-replacement channels?
Answer:

Yes. Outside of basic cable, everything else is transmitted scrambled.

Konstantinos Konstantinides at Quora Visit the source

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Other answers

I'm guessing you have to pay for those HD channels. QAM tuners can only pick up the non-scrambled 'free' or 'standard' channels. So it's not that the QAM tuner you have is incapable of HD for certain channels, it's just that ESPN in HD must not be available in an unscrambled format since it is sold and not for free to anyone.

Cameron Postelwait

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