Sky has revealed plans to offer its broadband TV subscribers access to 50 high definition (HD) channels by Christmas this year.

The company made the announcement as it revealed that three more channels are being added to its HD service in the next few months.

ITV1 HD will be launched on April 2nd, while Sky Sports HD 4 will be made available from April 29th and Hallmark Channel HD will make its debut on June 28th.

The introduction of the channels will take Sky's total number of HD services to 40, while Europe's first HD news offering is set to join them in the near future.

Hilary Perchard, Sky's Director of Product Management, said its HD channel pack was becoming "even better value".

He added: "We're seeing record demand for HD, both in terms of the number of customers signing up for Sky+HD and the amount of HD programmes they are watching."

Sky is also set to launch its 3D digital TV service in the next few months.