But are they?
http://corporate.sky.com/media/press..._upc_agreement
UPC managed to agree a deal which included Sky News HD and Sky Sports News HD.
Rob Webster,
Director of Sky’s Commercial Group, comments: "As we continue to increase our investment in high-quality pay-TV content, we’re keen to distribute our channels as broadly as possible to widen our reach and enable more households to enjoy some of the great programming Sky has to offer.
"This agreement demonstrates how through successful negotiation we can create value for the companies involved in addition to real benefits for consumers."
I'm sure if Virgin offer the right price SKY would consider giving them access to pretty much any channel. However seeing Virgin still don't have deals in place for Animal Planet HD, Eurosport 2HD, Cartoon Network HD, Crime & Investigation Network HD, Disney Channel HD, Disney Cinemagic HD, Disney XD HD, E! HD, ESPN America HD, MTV HD, Nat Geo Wild HD, Nickelodeon HD, TCM HD, Universal Channel HD and various popular standard definition channels I think I know who is firmly to blame.....
VIRGIN
There must good reasons why Virgin are so far behind SKY when it comes to HD. Either Virgin don't value the channels, or they aren't prepared to pay the asking price.
I'd be able to buy the whole SKY withholding argument if Virgin were snapping up channels from launch from other broadcasters, but they don't. Some of the above channels launched over 4 years ago, what on Earth is holding Virgin back?