Sky One promises 90 per cent HD

High definition will become the default format for Sky One-funded commissions as Sky looks to add more dedicated HD channels.

By the end of this year, 90 per cent of Sky One's original commissions will be shot in hi-def, said Brian Sullivan, managing director, Sky customer group.

Sky plans to add at least two more channels to its HD line-up this year, he added. Wotsat.com has already exclusively revealed that FX will launch an HD channel on Sky later this year.

Mr Sullivan told Broadcast magazine: "I wish Disney would build an HD channel. The Pixar stuff would look even more amazing in HD.

"There were a lot of HD sceptics in the past," said Sullivan. "People were unsure about what it was really offering. Now we have a quarter of a million HD subscribers and 17 per cent of the Sky HD customers who signed from January to March were entirely new to Sky."

Sky has already built more than 250,000 hi-def subscribers in the 10 months since SkyHD was launched, and 17 per cent of HD subscribers this year were new to Sky.