Digital TV News

Sky to offer 50 high-definition channels by Christmas

Monday 15 March, 2010

By Becca Talbot - becca@consumerchoices.co.uk

ITV1 HD and Sky Sports HD 4 will be added to Sky’s high-definition line-up as Sky plans to offer 50 HD channels by Christmas.

Customers with a subscription to Sky’s high-definition service, Sky+HD, will soon have the choice of over 40 HD channels, and will be able to watch programmes such as The Prisoner, Without a Trace and Britain’s Got Talent in super sharp high-definition.

Over the next few months, Sky (www.sky.co.uk) will launch ITV1 HD, Hallmark Channel HD and Sky Sports HD 4 high-definition channels, bringing its total number of HD channels to more than 40 - more than any other UK service.

Hilary Perchard, director of product management at Sky, said: “We are making our HD channel pack even better value with more high quality channels.

ITV1 HD will be available to all Sky+HD homes from 2 April, and will offer customers this year’s World Cup matches live in high-definition, as well as other major ITV shows such as Law and Order: UK, Survival with Ray Mears, and Britain’s Got Talent.

>Hallmark Channel HD will air a range of its most popular titles in HD for the first time, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Without a Trace. The channel will be available on Sky from 28 June.

Sky Sports HD 4 will launch on 29 April, boosting Sky’s live coverage of sports in high-definition to 9,200 hours a year. This year’s HD schedule for sports on Sky includes The Ryder Cup, The Ashes, Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and Guinness Premiership rugby.

Perchard added: “We’re seeing record demand for HD, both in terms of the number of customers signing up for Sky+HD and the amount of HD programmes they are watching. We look forward to reaching our next milestone, of 50 HD channels, by Christmas.”

The number of Sky+HD homes in the UK has almost tripled in a year, with over 2 million customers now subscribing for high-definition TV in their living rooms.

Sky will also be launching Europe’s first HD news channel, Sky News HD, in the coming months, and plans to reach 50 HD channels by Christmas this year.