BSkyB fails to reach deal with ITV on HD-TV

[BGonaSTICK]

With only 24 days before the World Cup in Germany, the prospect of enjoying the spectacle on a crisp high-definition television could be titillating English fans.

Customers of Telewest, which recently merged with communications giant NTL, will be able to watch every World Cup match in high definition, after the digital cable firm agreed on deals with both the BBC and ITV.

Viewers, will need Telewest's TVDrive and an HD-ready television set to watch high-definition programs, won't just get sharp-looking soccer. Documentaries, including new wildlife series Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Adventures, classic films like All Quiet on the Western Front and the Big Sleep, plus drama including Agatha Christie's Poirot specials Death on the Nile and Murder in Mesopotamia from ITV subsidiary Granada International will also be available.

However customers of BSkyB, the U.K.'s number one pay-TV provider 37% owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. will be not be receiving the ITV games in high-definition, after the broadcaster failed to reach a deal with the digital satellite outfit. "There were discussions with Sky but the commercial terms offered for rights for the World Cup matches in HD didn't represent the value we felt the rights had," an ITV spokeswoman was widely quoted as saying.

Sky is launching its high-definition TV service on 22 May. The broadcaster will install its first boxes that day after taking 40,000 advance orders from customers in the first three weeks of booking.

Live coverage of World Cup soccer, with or without Rooney, starts June 9.

Source: Forbes