I am delighted that we’re able to launch our new HD channels in time for Christmas, when families gather together to enjoy some of the best TV from the BBC.”

The new channels: BBC Three HD, BBC Four HD, BBC News HD, CBeebies HD and CBBC HD will be available on Freeview HD, Freesat HD, YouView, Sky HD and Virgin Media. Viewers will also be able to catch-up on HD programmes from these channels on BBC iPlayer.

The channels will be launching in time for Christmas, so viewers will be able to access more of their favourite festive treats in the highest quality from the comfort of their sofas or on-the-go via BBC iPlayer. So whether it’s Jack Whitehall’s Bad Education on BBC Three HD, the New Year’s Day concert from Vienna on BBC Four HD, breaking news and a chance to look back at 2013 on BBC News HD, A Christmas Carol on CBeebies HD or a Dumping Ground Special on CBBC HD, all the family can enjoy more of the BBC programmes they love in HD.

The new channels will be listed on the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) via the following numbers on each of these platforms:

BBC Three HD BBC Four HD BBC News HD CBBC HD CBeebies HD Freeview HD / YouView 105 106 107 73 74 Freesat HD 147 148 212 607 608 Sky HD 115 or 210 116 or 211 570 613 or 633 614 or 624 Virgin Media 163 164 604 710 711

Tony Hall, BBC Director-General, says: “I am delighted that we’re able to launch our new HD channels in time for Christmas, when families gather together to enjoy some of the best TV from the BBC. This year, people will be able to watch even more of our programmes in brilliant quality.”

All five new HD channels will broadcast the same programmes as their standard definition equivalents in HD.

Over 50 per cent of homes in the UK are already HD enabled, with reports estimating that the number of HD homes is expected to grow to reach over 20 million (80 per cent of all UK homes) by 2016 and over 23 million homes (90 per cent of all UK homes) by 2019.

Notes to Editors

The announcement that five new BBC HD channels will launch on Tuesday 10 December follows the successful launch of BBC One HD in 2010 and, in the past 15 months, BBC One Scotland HD, BBC One Wales HD, BBC One Northern Ireland HD and BBC Two HD.

On digital terrestrial television (Freeview HD and YouView), BBC Three HD and CBBC HD will use capacity on the BBC’s existing HD multiplex, which has universal coverage of UK homes. BBC News HD, BBC Four HD and CBeebies HD will use new HD capacity, which will extend to cover 70 per cent of UK homes by the Wimbledon Championships in June 2014.

IW