CNN has had an HD channel for more than a year, and Fox News started theirs in May, and it was added to DirectTV last week.

The question for MSNBC was, when will they launch their HD channel?

Well, it won't be before the 2008 election, and it won't be this year at all. According to a release today, MSNBC will begin broadcasting in 1080i HD in the spring of 2009. It will come The announcement comes at the one-year anniversary of the relocation to 30 Rock from New Jersey.

Click continued to see the release...

MSNBC will begin telecasting in 1080i High Definition in the spring of 2009. The announcement was made by Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC. This move comes as MSNBC marks the one-year anniversary of re-locating to NBC News world headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan. As Election Day approaches, MSNBC is more competitive than it has ever been before. In the third quarter of 2008, MSNBC was the fastest growing channel in all of cable. MSNBC is delivering its largest primetime audience ever and the largest audience in total day (6a-6a) since the start of the War Iraq (25-54, Oct. 08 to date).

"As viewers are making the transition to HD more and more every day, we're looking forward to delivering what they want: a full high definition experience on MSNBC," said Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC. "In addition to our live news programs, over 80% of our new documentaries will be presented in HD."

Building on the NBC News HD infrastructure already in place, MSNBC launches 1080i High Definition utilizing two full HD capable control rooms, integrated HD graphics, and new HD commercial integration master control and distribution systems. Since October of 2007, MSNBC has been telecasting from two HD-ready studios.

Built on the worldwide resources of NBC News, MSNBC defines news for the next generation with world-class reporting and a full schedule of live news coverage, political analysis and award-winning documentary programming -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week. MSNBC's home on the Internet is msnbc.com. Msnbc.com delivers a fuller spectrum of news. Drawing on its award-winning original journalism, NBC News heritage, trusted sources and Microsoft's advanced technologies, the site presents compelling, diverse and visually-engaging stories on the consumer's platform of choice. Nielsen Online reports more than 52 million unique visitors for August 2008, making msnbc.com the number one news site, ahead of Yahoo! News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and Fox News.