News Broadcasting
Sky confirms HDTV launch in May
MUMBAI: Sky has confirmed that the first installations of BSkyB’s new high-definition service, Sky HD, are scheduled to begin in May, in time for a raft of major sporting events. The announcement comes a day after the BBC confirmed it would start its HDTV trial in time for the World Cup.
Customers will have to acquire the Sky HD box for £299, with a monthly charge of £10 in addition to their Sky digital subscription, currently between £15 and £42.50 a month.
Sky’s director of product strategy and management Brian Sullivan commented, “Sky is just weeks away from an exciting new era that will transform the television viewing experience. Sky HD customers will be able to enjoy stunning picture and sound quality from the widest range of HD channels in the UK and Ireland. We’re delighted that the BBC has said that its HD coverage of the World Cup will be available to all customers with a Sky HD box as a non-subscription channel.”
The initial Sky HD line-up will consist of seven channels, which includes Sky Sports HD with live Barclays Premiership football, Guinness Premiership Rugby coverage, Coca-Cola League, Carling Cup football matches and England’s home tests and one day cricket internationals.
Sky Movies HD and Sky Box Office HD also includes movies like Kill Bill: Vol 1, Spider-Man 2 and Big Fish; Sky One, providing 24 and Rescue Me, among others, in HD.
The HD package will also have arts programming including remastered footage of Jimi Hendrix’s performance at the Isle of Wight Festival, Sky One shows including 24, and Discovery and National Geographic programmes. Other BBC programmes to feature in its trial include natural history series Planet Earth and Galapagos, and forthcoming drama documentary Hannibal.
The date of transmission has not been announced. HDTV provides a sharper, clearer and more colourful image than standard TV. BBC will make its HD World Cup coverage available to all viewers with a Sky HD box on a non-subscription channel.
BBC announced this week that the coverage forms part of an HDTV trial and will be an extra stream alongside conventional analogue and digital broadcasts.
Cable company Telewest launched the UK’s first high-definition television service earlier this month, though the service is currently limited to programmes made by BBC Worldwide. Sky estimates that 2.1 million HD TVs will have been sold in the UK by the end of the 2006, compared with 700,000 at the end of 2005
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
