HD channel growth accelerating across Europe

There are currently 941 HD TV channels on air across Europe, up from 612 at the end of last year, according to the latest survey by the European Audiovisual Observatory.

The figure represents growth of 54% in the number of HD channels over nine months and caps three strong years of HD growth. HD sports channels grew from 126 to 215 over the nine months to the end of September, while movie channels grew from 92 to 144 and generalist channels from 87 to 108.

While satellite and cable remain the main distribution platforms for HD, there were also 169 HD channels available on digital-terrestrial platforms at the end of September, according to the survey.

The UK was the leading HD country within the EU and candidate countries, with 229 channels, followed by Germany with 108 and France with 95. Other countries in the HD top 10 were Italy, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, Portugal and Romania.