User:Thebrid/High-definition television in the United Kingdom


 * This is a re-write of High-definition television in the United Kingdom 

High-definition television in the United Kingdom began broadcasting in March, 2006. High definition service is currently available through digital satellite and digital cable with both free and pay services available. As yet, there are no over-the-air HD broadcasts but there are currently plans in place for several channels to launch following the switch-off of analogue broadcasts.

History
The first high definition broadcasts in the UK were video on demand over the Telewest digital cable platform on 10th March, 2006.

The satellite broadcaster BSkyB launched its high-definition service, called Sky HD in May, 2006. The initial charge for the service was £299 for a high-definition receiver and a monthly fee of £10 for receiving HD broadcasts. The service initially launched with HD versions of Sky's basic channels Sky One HD & Artsworld HD, third-party channels BBC HD, Discovery HD & National Geographic Channel HD, Sky premium channels Sky Sports HD, Sky Movies 9 & 10 HD and pay-per-view content on Sky Box Office HD.

The BBC broadcast their first scheduled high-definition broadcasts on their newly launched BBC HD channel on 27th May, 2006, with the first programme being Planet Earth. The channel was launched on digital satellite and digital cable, as well as a trial terrestrial broadcast.

-- Channel 4 HD

Until mid-2008, the main ways of receiving high-definition broadcasts were through pay platforms. However, on 6th May, 2008, the BBC and ITV launched a new free-to-air digital satellite platform called Freesat. This was the first free service to offer high-definition broadcasts.

On 7th June, 2008, Britain's main commercial broadcaster ITV launched its high-definition channel ITV HD which was exclusively available through Freesat.

-- Freeview