It can never be said that BSkyB does not know an opportunity and launching Sky News HD on the evening of Polling Day for the general election next week has to be a good move.

Sky News HD will launch at 9pm on the evening of the 6th May.

It will be a simulcast version of the Sky News channel, so viewers will be able to view the night’s action in glorious high definition without missing out on anything.

The will be the first HD news in the UK.

It will be available on Sky Channel 517, but the Sky+ HD set top box will sort that out for the user, who will only need to check out the HD channels on the TV Guide.

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Election launch for Sky News HD

The Welsh National Party, Plaid Cymru, has gone on the offensive following last week’s leaders’ election debate on ITV1.

The party has complained to the regulator Ofcom over its exclusion from the debates.

Plaid Cymru has also joined with the Scottish National Party (SNP) to officially complain to the BBC Trust that both parties have been left out of the debates.

For Plaid Cymru the issue is clear, because the results of a YouGov survey, taken after the ITV1 debate, showed that while the Liberal Democrats came away with a 17 per cent rise in support, Plaid Cymru registered a 5 per cent drop.

According to the election director of Plaid Cymru, Helen Mary Jones, the party only wants a level playing field.

More:
Plaid Cymru complains over Election debates

If there is one winner from the general election it must be cricket or, to be more precise, The Ashes, as the government’s plans to revise the list of sporting events it feels should be on free-to-view TV has now been put on hold.

The Ashes was being targeted by the government as one event that should not be on Sky Sports, as this channel requires a subscription and is therefore not available to all.

The English cricket board (ECB) has only just signed a three year deal with BSkyB worth £300 million and this money would not be available if the Ashes was on free to view TV.

There will now be a tense wait for the outcome of the election, to see what the future has in store for these sporting events.

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Election catches out Ashes plans

With the General Election called, a major TV event that has been in the planning stages for some time will now be set in motion.

The live election debates that bring together the three leaders of the main political parties will now take place and details of these debates have been released.

Each debate will last ninety minutes.

The first will be screened on ITV1 on the 15th April in the north west of England, followed by Sky TV on the 22nd April in the south west, while the last debate will be shown on the BBC on the 29th April and will take place in the Midlands.

The audience will be asking the leaders questions directly from the floor, while viewers will be able to email questions in to the show in advance.

Originally posted here:
Election debate details released

Finally, it seems that there is some agreement between the UK political parties and the main UK broadcasters over the pre-election TV debates involving the leaders of the parties.

According to the BBC, a deal has been struck between the leaders of the Conservative, Labour & Liberal Democrat parties and the BBC, ITV & Sky TV.

There will also be a chance for the so called fringe political parties to have their say and currently it is proposed that these parties will get their chance straight after the main event.

These fringe debates are likely to involve the Green Party, BNP and UKIP.

The exact format is yet to be decided, but it is believed that the basics will remain the same across the channels although ITV and Sky TV will naturally include breaks in their slots.

All that is required now is an Election, possibly on the 6th May.

This would mean the debates would start on the 2nd May.

Read more from the original source:
Election debate guidelines agreed