HD+

History of HD+ channel line-up

The HD+ service launched on November 1, 2009, with two channels, RTL HD and Vox HD. Sat.1 HD, ProSieben HD and kabel eins HD were added on January 31, 2010.

Sport1 HD (previously DSF) joined the service on the first anniversary of the launch of HD+, on November 1, 2010, becoming the first channel in the HD+ package from outside the RTL and ProSiebenSat.1 groups. On December 1, 2010, HD versions of German women's entertainment channel sixx (owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media) and entertainment channel RTL II launched in HD on HD+. In June 2011, Comedy Central and nickelodeon from MTV Networks joined the HD+ platform and it was announced that news channel, N24 would join HD+ from July, bringing the number of channels offered to 11.

In October 2011 Tele5 HD launched on HD+ and on May 1, 2012, Super RTL launched a high definition version of the RTL/Disney owned channel on the HD+ platform alongside Discovery's DMAX channel. The 15th channel to join HD+ was adult pop music channel Deluxe Music, in December 2012.

Disney Channel HD left the German pay-TV platform, Sky Deutschland in November 2013 to relaunch on HD+ on January 17, 2014, as an advertising-financed service. In April 2014 HD+ added the news channel n-tv HD, male orientated entertainment channels ProSieben Maxx HD and RTL Nitro HD, and women's lifestyle channel TLC HD to the line-up, bringing the total number of channels in the service to 20.

In the months leading up to the launch of HD+, it had been reported that MTV – already broadcasting in HD from Astra 19.2°E – was in discussions to join the package but it was only some six years after those discussions, on September 1, 2014, that MTV HD left the Sky Deutschland pay-TV platform and became the 21st channel to join HD+. However, MTV HD was not available for customers that viewed HD+ via Sky Deutschland (as there was no VideoGuard encryption enabled for MTV HD) until 21 October 2015. In October, the number of channels was reduced back to 20 when Viacom reorganized its channels in Germany. Comedy Central was no longer available via HD+ and Nickelodeon, which previously shared its channel with Comedy Central, increased its broadcast hours to 24 hours a day.