BSkyB ups HD commissions on Sky One

[BGonaSTICK]

Brian Sullivan, architect of BSkyB's high-definition television (HDTV) strategy, says Sky One will be shooting 90% of its original programming in HD by the end of 2008.

Sullivan made the announcement in an interview with Broadcast after Sky earlier this month announced it had attracted 244,000 HD subscribers by the end of March, a rise of 60,000 in the quarter.

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

"When you look at these figures you have to take a number of things into consideration. Not least the fact that, as little as 15 months ago, nothing was shot in HD."