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Entertainment and celebrity channel, E! is now available in high definition to viewers in Germany and Austria from the Sky Deutschland pay-TV platform. The female-skewed channel mixes locally produced shows, such as Fulminant, reporting on German events and celebrities, with international shows such as Live from the Red Carpet, Fashion Police, and The Saturdays – The Way Up.

Despite the availability of online TV and on-demand services, nearly a third of German viewers regularly ‘time shift’ broadcast TV – record a show to watch at a later date – according to research from German trade association, Bitkom.

Over 3.1 million smart TV sets were sold in Germany in 2012, according to a report from the German consumer electronics association Gfu (Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Unterhaltungselektronik) and over a third of all flat screen TVs sold in Germany were equipped with internet connectivity.

Germany's largest commercial broadcaster, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, has announced it will stop digital terrestrial broadcasting of RTL, RTL II, Super RTL and Vox in Germany because it is not economical compared to satellite, according to a German media industry publication.

Research by SES (operator of the ASTRA satellites) has shown that the switch-off of analogue satellite TV for Germany in April 2012 sent dish owners flocking to digital satellite TV, and there are now more German satellite viewers than ever.

More than 1 million German homes are now paying the €50 annual service fee to receive the HD+ high definition satellite platform, with almost 2 million more receiving the HD channels in their 12-month free trial period. At the end of 2012 over 944,000 were paying the fee, more than double the number a year previously.

German pop and rock video channel, Deluxe Music has launched a high definition version as part of the HD+ platform of German HD channels on ASTRA 19.2°E. Deluxe Music HD is the 15th channel to join HD+, alongside Comedy Central HD, DMAX HD, kabel eins HD, N24 HD, Nickelodeon HD, ProSieben HD, RTL HD, RTL II HD, SUPER RTL HD, Sat.1 HD, sixx HD, SPORT1 HD, Tele 5 HD, and Vox HD.

A new free-to-air entertainment channel from private German TV group, ProSeibenSat.1 Media is launching in the New Year. Spun off from the broadcaster’s flagship channel, Sat.1 and building on the success of women’s channel sixx, Sat.1 Gold is aimed at women, particularly those in their ‘golden years’ of 49-64, and will show exclusively German productions including classic series, talk shows, documentaries and films. Sat.1 Gold will start on January 17.

German home shopping channel Pearl TV is now available in high definition by satellite. Broadcasting 24/7 from studios in Buggingen, Pearl TV offers diverse products from jewellery to gadgets, and joins QVC, HSE24 and Juwelo TV in free-to-air HDTV home shopping on ASTRA 19.2°E.

Visit www.pearl.de for more information

German pay TV platform Sky Deutschland has brought the birth of the next generation ultra-high definition broadcasting format a little nearer with the experimental recording of a live football match in Ultra HD. On December 1, the Bundesliga top match between FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund was captured with two 4K (Ultra HD) cameras to give a recorded picture of four times the resolution of a current full HD image.