Five makes bid for DTT HD slot

Five has submitted an application for the fourth HD channel slot on digital terrestrial television.

The broadcaster would use the slot, which becomes available in July 2010, for an HD simulcast of its primetime lineup, VOD offerings and third-party content.

Five is the only one of the four terrestrial broadcasters not to operate an HD service at present.

The proposed service would offer an HD simulcast of Five between 5pm and 1am each day, followed by five hours of other services, such as VOD, for use by Five and other broadcasters.

The 6am-5pm window would be licensed out to a third-party HD broadcaster.

At launch - estimated for "late 2010" - Five programming broadcast in HD would include popular acquisitions such as CSI, House and Neighbours, sport, films and original commissions, such as The Gadget Show and Fifth Gear.

Five estimates that 43% of content would be natively HD at launch and the remainder would be up-scaled SD. The broadcaster aims to transmit its entire primetime lineup in native HD by 2018.

Ofcom is expected to announce whether Five or rival bidder Channel 4 is successful in April.