Virgin Media moved to step up its fight with arch-rival BSkyB after unveiling a major push into high-definition TV.

The cable group is launching six HD channels, hoping to snare some of the 1m Sky subscribers who have signed up for the satellite giant’s service.

The company’s chief executive Neil Berkett said as many as six HD channels would be launched in the third quarter of 2009.

“And we already have over 300 hours of high-definition content on our video on demand service,” he added.

First-quarter results from Virgin Media suggest that the cable firm could do with a helping hand.

Its number of customers grew by just 7,100 during the first quarter – less than a tenth of the net 80,000 subscribers who signed with Sky over the period.

Virgin Media saw its operating loss widen from £102 to £133m in the first quarter. Boss Neil Berkett played down speculation that the debt-laden group is planning to rent capacity on its network to rivals to improve its financial performance.