Sky Deutschland, a German television operator, will stop broadcasting SD versions of 26 channels from its DTH (direct-to-home) satellite service starting from March 22, 2023. The HD versions of the channels, including Sky Cinema, Sky Sport, and Sky Fußball Bundesliga, will continue to be available to subscribers. This decision follows similar actions taken by Sky Germany over the past three years, particularly in 2020 when it dropped the "HD" acronym from its channel names.
Subscribers to Sky Germany do not need to take any action to activate the free HD versions of the channels, as all corresponding HD versions have already been activated without additional costs. However, if subscribers use a CI+ module or a non-Sky receiver, they may need to rescan or search for channels. Additionally, PVR recordings that were activated on the SD channels need to be reprogrammed on the new HD channels, as programming will not automatically transfer from SD to HD. Moreover, if the SD channels were in the Favorites list, they need to be removed and replaced with the HD versions.
In addition to the HD channels available with a Sky Entertainment (Plus) or Sky Starter basic package, Sky Germany subscribers can now access other high-definition channels, such as Sky Cinema (Sky Cinema Action HD, Sky Cinema Family HD, Sky Cinema Premieren +24 HD, Sky Cinema Best Of HD, Sky Cinema Premieren HD), Sky Sport (Sky Sport Top Event HD, Sky Sport Tennis HD, Sky Sport 1 HD, Sky Sport 2 HD, Sky Sport 3 HD, Sky Sport 4 HD, Sky Sport 5 HD, Sky Sport 6 HD, Sky Sport 7 HD, Sky Sport 8 HD, Sky Sport 9 HD), and Sky Fußball Bundesliga (Sky Sport Bundesliga HD, Sky Sport Top Event HD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 1 HD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 2 HD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 3 HD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 4 HD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 5 HD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 6 HD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 7 HD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 8 HD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 9 HD).
Starting from March 22, 2023, Sky Germany will drop the following SD duplicates: Sky Cinema (Sky Cinema Family SD, Sky Cinema Premieren +24 SD, Sky Cinema Best Of SD, Sky Cinema Premieren SD, Sky Cinema Action SD), Sky Sport (Sky Sport Tennis SD, Sky Sport Top Event SD, Sky Sport 1 SD, Sky Sport 2 SD, Sky Sport 3 SD, Sky Sport 4 SD, Sky Sport 5 SD, Sky Sport 6 SD, Sky Sport 7 SD, Sky Sport 8 SD, Sky Sport 9 SD), and Sky Fußball Bundesliga (Sky Sport Bundesliga SD, Sky Sport Top Event SD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 1 SD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 2 SD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 3 SD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 4 SD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 5 SD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 6 SD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 7 SD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 8 SD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 9 SD).
Sky Deutschland, formerly known as Premiere, is a German media group headquartered near Munich that provides pay television services through its subsidiary Sky Deutschland Fernsehen. Since October 2018, it has been a subsidiary of US-based Comcast Corporation. Sky operates its own channels while also serving as a platform for TV channels from other broadcasters in Germany and Austria. Sky Deutschland is dedicated to viewers in Germany and Austria, and programs can be received via the Astra satellites at 19.2 degrees East, through most cable network operators (partially), as well as through Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone's
IPTV platforms. The company's two main offerings are movies shown in premieres before regular television and live sports events, especially football. TV series make up an increasing proportion of the program schedules.
Sky Germany is based on the customer base of television broadcaster Premiere, which the company replaced in 2009 when it took over its technical infrastructure and customer base. Premiere was launched in 1990 as a German business of the Swiss Teleclub. It merged with competitor DF1 in 1999 to form Premiere World. In 2002, Premiere World's large losses led to the bankruptcy of the Kirch Group. The company was renamed Premiere on March 9, 2005.
Source: hdsatelit