We’ve now got HD channels by the bucket load. Sky Box Office HD, Sky Sports, Sky Premier, Sky One, BBC and Channel 4 are just a short collection of these, each of them available in glorious high definition.

The number of channels is testament to the big step forward the technology has taken. Launched in May 2006, the longest subscribers to the Sky HD service will now have been enjoying the service for around three years, and in the next three years the service is set to grow quickly.

The UK’s two biggest broadcasters, Sky and the BBC, are both committed HD enthusiasts, and by the time the London Olympics arrive in three summer’s time they aim to have a vast majority of the British public hooked onto their network.
One of the key draws is price. The Sky HD service is now available for well under £100. At the time of launch a subscription would have only been possible after the £299 initial fee was paid. And with the appropriate technology, BBC HD can be received for free.

So, whether Bond is your bag – or you’d prefer to put your feet up to the sound of the Premiership, it could be time to jump onto the HD wagon, because it’s already off downhill and it isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

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Image Credit: fmc.nikon.d40 on Flickr

Tags: Digital TV, High Definition TV, Sky, Switchover by Peter Moore
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Twenty years after Sky first launched their broadcasting service, the landscape is quite different

The Berlin Wall was still standing 20 years ago when Sky television was launched, effectively doubling the number of channels that we have available in an instant. And Sky heralded a revolution of a very different kind, bringing a whole range of television channels to households around the country that ran in addition to the existing four.

Twenty years along the line, Sky is firmly established as one of the nation’s top broadcasters. Sky One has made inroads into the BBC’s monopoly of topical news programmes and Sky Movies and Sky Sports have become flagship stations in their own right.

In the last few weeks Sky have drastically reduced the price of their Sky+ HD boxes to an impressive, and dangerously accessible £49 – meaning that within weeks, viewers can be settling into their sofas to enjoy the final stages of the Premier League, Oscar night, or the very latest from Sky Box Office all in glorious, unprecedented quality.

To celebrate today’s anniversary, Pocket-lint has dedicated a list of five Sky facts. To discover more about Sky’s range of HD offers, visit

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Image Credit: erin MC hammer on Flickr

Tags: Digital TV, Sky by Peter Moore
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