Sky, Virgin Media, Freesat, Freeview and BT Vision customers will be set to gain a new channel in March, when BBC 2 HD is introduced for the first time. They will however be losing access to the long running BBC HD channel, which is officially being shut down at the same time.

Teaming up with BBC 1 HD, you won't be surprised to learn that the content on the new channel will be much the same as BBC 2, in-fact it'll be identical as the channels will simul-cast – one will just be at a significantly higher resolution.

Apparently one of the big reasons for switching over to this format, instead of maintaining the BBC HD channel as well, is for cost savings. According to Wired, shutting down BBC HD and replacing it with a secondary high-def version of already available content, should save the broadcaster around half a billion pounds a year.

When the new channel launches on the 26th of March, you'll be able to find it on Sky HD 169, Freeview HD and YouView 102, Virgin Media 187, Freesat HD 109 and BT Vision 852.

KitGuru Says: I'm not a big TV watcher, but it is nice to find an HD channel now that I've finally got a decent TV. Thank god for regularly upgrading relatives.

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