Amstrad announces Sky+ manufacturing deal

Amstrad has announced the signing of an agreement with Sky to manufacture boxes for its Sky+ service. It anticipates Amstrad Sky+ boxes will be available to the public towards the end of 2003.

The news follows Digital Spy's exclusive report in January which revealed Amstrad was in negotiations with Sky for a licence to produce Sky+ boxes.

Amstrad's Commercial Director, Simon Sugar, said: "As BSkyB's first and therefore longest serving set top box supplier, Amstrad welcomes this opportunity to become a key BSkyB supplier of the Sky + set top box, BSkyB's premium product. Sky has chosen Amstrad for its long standing experience in set top box manufacture and its proven reliability and efficiency.

"BSkyB and Amstrad have been pioneering partners in this industry for the past 14 years and we at Amstrad place great importance on the successful continuation of this relationship."

Amstrad will also be manufacturing the "Sky Navigator", a combined keyboard and remote control. This will be sold as an upgrade option, and will begin shipping in the second half of this year.

Brian Sullivan, Sky's Director of New Product Development, said: "Since its launch Sky+ has been the UK leader in the emerging Personal Video Recorder (PVR) category. As this market grows it is critical that we have the suppliers to support demand. We are excited that a valued manufacturer such as Amstrad is entering the PVR market as a partner for Sky+. We also believe the Sky Navigator will be a strong addition to our Sky and Sky+ remote control range, providing an increased level of flexibility for customers use of Sky's interactive services such as betting, text messaging, e-mail and games. It will be one of the featured products available in the new Sky Accessory range."