UTV HD to launch on Freesat

Following the announcement made back in March 2012 that UTV HD had tied up a deal with ITV, it has today been announced that UTV HD will join the Freesat platform in the first quarter of 2013.
UTV is Northern Ireland’s most watched channel and their high-definition channel will be a great addition to the Freesat platform.
The channel is already available on the Virgin network, with Freeview to follow this coming week and both Freesat and Sky in the new year.
Michael Wilson, Managing Director of UTV Television said:
In October 2010 we became the first channel on the island of Ireland to launch an HD service when Her Majesty the Queen officially launched our service on the Virgin platform in Northern Ireland.

Now that DSO is finally here, we can introduce UTV HD on Freeview HD for our audience next Wednesday so they can enjoy all their favourite soaps, drama and sport in glorious high definition.
HD pictures will also add a new dimension to our outstanding coverage of news and current affairs in Northern Ireland and reinforce our reputation for quality journalism as market leader. We have also signed a new agreement with the ITV Network which will ensure that UTV HD is introduced on the Sky platform and Freesat in the first quarter of 2013.

To celebrate DSO in Northern Ireland, we are launching a new campaign entitled ‘Part of U’ on UTV this month, which is aimed at reminding our audience of the unique role the channel has played for more than 50 years as part of the local community – as well as reflecting on the changing nature of how our audience now watch their favourite programmes, on TV, in HD, online and on the go.
Now it’s time to look to the future and as we approach DSO next week we want to remind our audience of our deep commitment to providing quality news and current affairs, entertainment and sport on all platforms, as part of the audience we serve.