New DStv HD channel details revealed

MultiChoice has confirmed it will launch a third high definition (HD) sports channel on Friday, 8 April 2011.

This comes after MultiChoice announced the 7 April 2011 launch of the channel through its forum and Twitter accounts a number of weeks ago.

Details of the new HD sports channel were scant, but MultiChoice has now revealed that the launch of the additional HD sports channel has given SuperSport the opportunity to slightly reshuffle its sports offering across the three SuperSport HD channels:

SuperSport HD1, channel 171: SS HD1 consists of a variety of sporting coverage including local and international rugby, PSL football, UEFA Champions League, tennis majors, European Tour, US PGA golf, F1 and MotoGP.

SuperSport HD2, channel 174: SS HD2, which currently shows the English Premier League, will be the new channel which will be available from 8 April 2011 at 6am. It will feature various high definition sports programming, including selected cricket, Bundesliga soccer, PSL soccer, Europa League soccer, tennis majors, Champions League soccer, F1 and MotoGP.

SuperSport HD3, channel 176: SS HD3 will now broadcast the 24-hour English Premier League channel (previously available on SS HD2). A limited amount of programming, particularly legacy matches will be in Standard Definition because of their historical nature.

M-Net HD (channel 170) will be used for sport on Saturdays between 2-7 pm, mainly rugby but also some soccer and PGA golf. This channel will only be used in the event that the regular SuperSport HD channels cannot accommodate additional sport.

“We made a commitment to our viewers and now we are delivering,” said Andre de Villiers, SuperSport’s marketing director. “Sporting events are increasingly being produced in high definition and SuperSport is committed to bringing more of this broadcast technology to the market. Sport, in particular, lends itself to the excellent quality offered by high definition.”

The addition of a third HD sports channel brings the total number of high definition channels on DStv to six: three SuperSport HD channels, M-Net HD, M-Net Movies 1 HD and Discovery HD Showcase. The high definition channels are available to DStv Premium subscribers who use an HD PVR decoder, and are included as part of the monthly access fee of R65.

“High definition channels are becoming the television standard globally. We don’t want our subscribers to be left behind – our focus is on rolling out as many high definition channels onto the DStv platform as possible,” commented Aletta Alberts, general manager of content at MultiChoice.

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