NHK goes HD on BSkyB, and Freesat

News and information channel NHK World, which has won universal praise for its recent earthquake and tsunami coverage, is to go fully HD on the UK’s BSkyB and Freesat services in May.

EPG number will be 507 for Sky’s HD subscribers. NHK World is broadcast in English to around 137 million households in more than 120 countries and regions.

NHK World’s worldwide distribution manager, Keiji Yokoyama, talking exclusively to Advanced-Television said the channel’s move to HD on Sky was a natural progression for the broadcaster as it was in the process of converting all of its 30 news bureaus around the world to HD news and video capture.

The channel has also been test broadcasting on NHK+ over Russia and this service will also go live in May, in HDTV.

Recent additions to the channels distribution include the DTH platform in Taiwan, as well as cable systems in Hawaii and Washington DC.

Napayshni.