Sky News HD to launch on election night

The new Sky News HD channel from BSkyB is set to launch on May 6 to coincide with the UK general election.

Sky News HD will be broadcast from 21:00 on May 6 on Sky channel 517 and will be a simulcast of the existing standard-definition channel. From May 10, the channel will introduce HD Premium Panels, which will provide contextual detail about key stories of the day including live video feeds. The launch of Sky News HD means that all of Sky’s own channels are now available in the format.

Separately, Sky has announced that Sky Sports will screen the final and one of the semi-finals from the Guinness Premiership rugby championship in 3D.