MSNBC will begin telecasting in 1080i High Definition on Monday, June 29. MSNBC president Phil Griffin made the announcement today at the Cable Show in Washington, D.C.

MSNBC will build on the NBC News HD infrastructure already in place, including two full HD control rooms and HD graphics. MSNBC has been using two HD-ready studios since their move to 30 Rock in October 2007.

CNN was the first of the cablers to go HiDef, in Sept. 2007. Fox News went HD in May 2008.

The MSNBC press release after the jump...

MSNBC will begin telecasting in 1080i High Definition on Monday, June 29. The announcement was made today at the Cable Show in Washington, D.C., by MSNBC President Phil Griffin.

"MSNBC is in the best competitive place its ever been, beating CNN in primetime last month and continuing incredible growth," said Griffin. "Broadcasting in HD is only going to help us build on the great success we've had so far this year, and will give viewers what they've been asking for, a full high definition broadcast of MSNBC."

For the first time ever, MSNBC beat CNN in weekday primetime for the month of March in both total viewers and Adults 25-54. MSNBC was also the number one cable news network among younger viewers, Adults 18-34, in primetime in March, and in the morning. In March, MSNBC also beat CNN at 8 p.m. among both total viewers and A25-54 with "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," at 9 p.m. in A25-54 with "The Rachel Maddow Show," and 6-9 a.m. in A25-54 with "Morning Joe" for the first time since August 2001.

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 44 million unique visitors for January 2009, making msnbc.com the number one news site, ahead of Yahoo! News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and Fox News.