FOXTEL HD to debut this Sunday

FOXTEL announced it will launch its new FOXTEL HD+ service this Sunday, June 22, during the Australia vs. China football World Cup Qualifier.

The pay TV giant has confirmed that more than 15,000 current FOXTEL customers have already upgraded to the high definition package.

FOXTEL HD features five new HD channels, including FOX SPORTS HD, ESPN HD, BBC HD, Discovery HD, and National Geographic Channel HD.

After the $200 upgrade fee, HD customers will pay about $20 to $30 on top of their current FOXTEL fees, which includes $10 per month for the service and either $9.95 for some of the HD channels or $14.95 for all five.

HD customers will also have access to high definition, on-demand movies for $6.95 each.

FOXTEL HD also includes the next generation of the company’s disk drive set-top unit, FOXTEL IQ2, which holds 320GB of memory and allows viewers to record two shows at once.

While the current package only provides the five channels and film choices, FOXTEL says it plans to expand its high definition coverage in the future.

“The initial offering of FOXTEL HD+ programming includes sport, documentaries and entertainment – a channel line-up which will expand as time progresses reinforcing the FOXTEL proposition of consumer choice,” said FOXTEL Executive Director of Content, Product Development and Delivery, Patrick Delany.

“FOXTEL will further grow this initial offering to include packages for full HD+ coverage of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the 2012 London Summer Olympics.”

The official HD launch during the Socceroos match will begin at 6:00 p.m. Sunday on FOXSPORTS HD.