Advanced Television

Sogecable launches Canal+HD

February 1, 2008

From David Del Valle in Madrid

The largest Spanish pay-TV group, Sogecable, is the first company in the country to distribute nationwide a High Definition channel with the launch of Canal + HD, the HD version of its premium pay-TV service.

On trial since last December, the channel will offer a regular HD transmission to all those subscribers to Digital Plus, the Sogecable-owned DTH platform, equipped with an iPlus set-top-box, a HD ready or full HD TV set and with access to Canal Plus. In Spain, it is estimated that around 13 per cent of Spanish homes are ready to receive HD transmissions, representing 21 per cent of Digital Plus subs.

Initially, most of the present Canal Plus content (cinema, football, series, documentaries) will be also available on HD on Canal + HD, with plans to have a 100 per cent HD programming over the next few months. In addition, Sogecable has signed an agreement with Sony and Astra to boost the development of HD TV by launching campaigns through joint distribution networks.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, Pay TV, UHD