Sky confirms 50th HD channel

BSkyB has announced that Living is to become the 50th HD channel to sign on for the Sky HD platform, at the same time confirming that it has signed its three millionth HD subscriber.

Living HD launches today (September 2), the 46th HD channel to do so, following the launch of Good Food HD earlier this week. Eden HD, ITV 2 HD, ITV 3 HD and ITV 4 HD will all follow in the next few weeks, completing the promised 50 HD channels before Christmas.

“Sky recognised the potential of HD early and we are delighted it has grown into something which our customers utterly love and now demand as standard,” said Sophie Turner Laing, Sky’s MD of Entertainment, News and Broadcast Operations. “In maintaining our leadership, we look forward to offering our customers even more choice of HD as well as new innovations such as Sky 3D and Anytime+. With so much brilliant content coupled with ground breaking innovation, it’s no wonder that we’ve seen such strong growth in HD.”

More than three million HD subscribers have now signed up to Sky HD at an additional £10 per month. This represents some 30% of the satcaster’s installed base. 1.6 million HD subscriptions were added in the 12 months to June 2010.

The Sky+ HD receiver – initially a steep £300 when launched four years ago – os now offered free to customers when they sign up for Sky TV and the Sky+ HD pack for the first time. The receiver is also compatible with Sky 3D and the forthcoming broadband-delivered Sky Anytime+ pull VOD service.