German pay-TV operator Premiere kicked off the broad market launch of Premiere HD (high-definition) in Germany and Austria over the weekend.

The pay-TV channel will be broadcasting extensive programming with sports highlights, feature films, series and documentaries in HD. Premiere expects strong demand for HD services in Germany, with forecasts of 500,000 subscribers by mid 2008. Research indicates there could be more than 3 million HD-ready TVs in Germany.

The launch of Premiere HD follows a successful field test, where more than 1,000 Premiere subscribers tested the service in December and January.