Throw away your Sky subscription!

Only kidding. Well, I’ll let you make your mind up. A joint venture between ITV and the Beeb will provide viewers with subscription free HD digital TV. Yes - I did say “free”. The service will cover about 98% of UK homes and launches with an initial package of 80 channels. So far, so good (unless you’re one of the unlucky 2%).

Major sporting events such as the Olympics, Euro 2008 (any reason why you’d want to watch that now we’re out?) and Wimbledon will be shown in HD.

The service is planned to have about 200 channels in place by the end of the year.

Ok, it’s not totally free. There is a one-off payment to buy the box or Freesat capable HDTV: £49 for the box, £120 for the HD box plus installation which adds about £80 on top (this covers dish installation).

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