Pace Micro Technology won a key High-Definition HD contract in Europe. Sky Italia, as a launch partner for its HD service, selected Pace to supply its next generation HD set-top box.

Sky Italia’s HD service launched last week with live coverage of the European Champions League Cup Final. Neil Gaydon, Pace’s new CEO commented, “Sky Italia is among the first major pay-TV operators in Europe to start deploying HDTV – as Premiere is doing in Germany – and Pace has been the launch partner for both.”

With the football World Cup less than a month away, there is a greater focus now on HD with many operators such as Sky Italia and BSkyB getting ready to woo subscribers with HD offers. Sky Italia has around 3.6 million subscribers in Italy.