The advertising deal between Ten and Sony, was facilitated by Sony's media agency Starcom. According to Ten CEO, Grant Blackley, the electronics company is the perfect fit for Ten-HD.

"After nearly a year of planning, we're just 48 hours away from the launch of TEN-HD and the start of an exciting new era in Australian broadcasting. It's great to have Sony, who share our commitment to HD, onboard to mark the occasion," he said.

"We have long championed the virtues of HD and are working together to see HD take off in
Australia."

According to Sony group manager corporate marketing, Tim Rich, Sony is putting all stops behind HD.

"Sony has just released its latest High Definition Benchmark Report, produced independently by GfK, which shows that consumers are spending more on HD products than ever before1. This partnership is a great fit for Sony as our BRAVIA LCD TVs offer the best way of enjoying HD content in the home," he said.

"HD is the way the world is heading and this is evident by the support HD has from TEN, as well as the rise in sales of HD TVs, particularly in LCD TVs which made up 53% of all HD products sold in Q3 2007."

From Sunday, Ten-HD will provide viewers with exclusive programs not shown on the main TEN channel and time-shifted Ten favourites.