E4 HD & FilmFour HD coming to Virgin Media

E4 HD and FilmFour HD will launch on Virgin Media this spring/summer. The latter channel will be exclusive to Virgin, too. E4 HD is expected to arrive sometime in April; meaning popular shows like Glee, Skins, Hollyoaks and Misfits will finally be available to subscribers in high-def. FilmFour HD will simulcast its discerning mix of British/American indies, Hollywood blockbusters and world cinema imports.

Cindy Rose, Virgin Media's Executive Director of Digital Entertainment:

"Channel 4 has a great track record in delivering innovative and compelling content and we're delighted to bring some of their very best films and most popular programmes to our customers in stunning HD. As more and more households become HD-ready, we're lining up content that makes the most of High Definition and are making HD available to all our of customers for no extra fee."

Sarah Rose, Channel 4's Head of VoD & Channel Development:

"We're really excited to be launching Film4 HD and showcasing some fantastic British films to millions of viewers in High Definition. There's a growing appetite for HD and our line up of C4HD, E4HD and, now, Film4HD provides a great choice of HD content for viewers."

Added to the recently announced Discovery HD and Eurosport HD purchases, this means Virgin's HD lineup is set to swell to 12 channels. And there are still rumours that Virgin intend to secure more Sky-owned HD content this year (including the jewel of Sky1HD) by making that a condition of their deal to sell Sky the suite of channels it owns (Virgin1, Living, Bravo and Challenge.) A few insiders suggest that Sky might be willing to take that hit, as it needs cash to fund its pioneering 3D venture.