Sky again reinforced its commitment to high definition TV (HDTV) by announcing this morning that Sky News will launch a high definition TV news channel in Spring 2010.
The launch requires major investment by Sky in upgrading studios, production facilities and newsgathering operations in the UK and overseas. It will be the first UK news channel to broadcast in HD.
Sky News HD will be simulcast alongside Sky News’ existing standard definition channel, and with an updated HD studio, HD resources in the field and HD graphics capable of delivering a 3D look on-air.
The decision to launch Sky News HD follows the Sky News’s first ever HD broadcast and HD online streaming of Barack Obama’s Inauguration in January 2009.
Jeremy Darroch, Sky’s Chief Executive, said: “Sky News continues to break new ground in television news and it’s only natural for it to become the first UK news channel to launch in HD. It’s great news for our Sky+HD customers, giving them access to award-winning breaking news in HD for the very first time and further expanding the choice on offer.”
Head of Sky News John Ryley adds: “Sky News HD marks another landmark for a news organisation, now in its 21st year of broadcasting.
It’s an investment in the future of news, for the audiences of today and tomorrow. It is a vision that clearly defines Sky’s strengths, passion and restless pursuit to be first and to be the best.
As at 31st March 2009 Sky+HD currently had 1.022 million customers, an increase of 465,000 on the year before. Sky+ HD allows customers to watch 33 HD channels from leading brands such as Sky Movies, Sky Sports, Channel 4, Disney, MTV, BBC, Discovery, FX, Sky1 and National Geographic. The channels broadcast up to 400 hours a day – or 12,000 hours a month of HD content, which is significantly more than any other TV platform.
As Sky continues to drive its HDTV proposition, it will be interesting to see the response from Sky’s competitors like Virgin Media and BT Vision. Virgin Media is far more focused on developing its on-demand TV proposition and has talked down the relevance of HDTV in the UK market. It seems to us that both HDTV and on-demand TV are hugely attractive to viewers and investment in both areas should reap rewards for the pay-TV providers.
If you need help choosing the best HDTV service for you, Simplifydigital’s Ofcom accredited online service allows you to compare HD digital TV deals from all the UK providers including Sky, Virgin Media and Freesat. And our impartial experts are always on hand to answer those tricky questions if need be.