Sky strikes back

BSkyB has upped the ante in its war with Virgin Media by repackaging Sky Movies into a number of genre-based channels, including comedy, sci-fi and horror and modern greats.

BSkyB has upped the ante in its war with Virgin Media by repackaging Sky Movies into a number of genre-based channels, including comedy, sci-fi and horror and modern greats.

The decision comes a week after Virgin Media's high profile launch, where the company claimed its 500 movie library combined with its on-demand channel Virgin Central backed by a huge advertising campaign would beat Sky's movie offering.

Sky Networks deputy managing director Sophie Turner Laing said: 'Sky Movies offers the best film experience available… viewers can enjoy even greater control of the films they want to watch.'

From 4 April, Sky's movie channels will be divided into genre-based film channels; comedy, drama, family, classic, action and thriller, sci-fi and horror, independent, modern greats and premieres.

Sky said it will continue to feature 450 different films a week, 150 high-definition films and around 20 premieres a month.

Sky's on-demand service Sky Anytime, currently only available on PC and mobile, will be accessible on TV from March. This will offer customers the chance to access films from the Sky Movies catalogue on-demand. Sky Anytime saw over 1 million downloads in its first year.

A Sky spokesman said the change 'had been planned' for months. 'We did lots of research through focus groups and other outlets and found that our customers wanted a system that was easier to navigate,' he said.