The big picture

摘要

High-definition TV is coming to Europe, with high-profile launches planned by pay-TV operators over the coming months. The extent to which these launches and the impact of next year's World Cup will boost uptake remains the great unknown, however. Europe is gearing up for high-definition TV. After a few years of showing little interest, European pay-TV broadcasters have woken up to the growing market in flat-panel display devices while broadcasters and producers are more aware than ever of the need to supply HD programming to the global market. HDTV in Europe has been led so far by Euro 1080, the Luxembourg-based broadcaster that launched its second channel, the pay-per-event-based HD2, earlier this year: Now, with high-profile launches planned by major European pay-TV broadcasters in the next few months, it seems that many more European viewers will soon be watching sharper TV pictures on ever-bigger TV screens.