Fuel TV is to turn off its SD distribution in favour of HD transmission. The broadcaster says the move, scheduled to take place in January 2011, will make it the first action sports native HD channel in the world.
Fernando Figueiredo, Fuel TV’s general manager, EMEA, told Broadband TV News that over 90% of the channel’s output was already being produced in HD. Operators will be permitted to take the HD signal from the Kabelkiosk platform (Eutelsat Eurobird 9A, 9 degrees East) and downconvert to SD if required.
Fuel TV is a unit of Fox Cable Networks, which began in 2003 as the only network in the United States to cover the lifestyle and culture around the action sports of skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, motocross, and wakeboarding. It is distributed in Europe by Fluid Youth Culture.
Its flagship show is The Daily Habit, which features some of the biggest stars in both action sports and entertainment. Fuel TV also carries a number of events live including the WCT from J-Bay, South Africa and the Maloof Money Cup in New York.
The Fuel TV website features full length HD episodes, live webcasts and podcasts to be downloaded.
