Subscribers to the service, which was launched today, face delays of up to three weeks after supply problems at Thomson, the electronics company that makes the equipment.

The delays mean thousands of Sky customers will miss the opportunity to watch in high definition this summer’s World Cup. It starts on June 9.

Sky, which is 38 per cent owned by News Corporation, parent company of Times Online, is expected to announce a service to deliver HD-TV to pubs in the near future.

Sky told Times Online: "Most customers will have to wait less than two weeks to have this equipment installed. We knew there would be strong demand for this service and we are know pressing our suppliers to provide more boxes."

Those who had ordered the service first would still receive their equipment first, he added. Sky expects the number of set-top boxes supplied by Thomson to double in the next week.

Sky had previously said 40,000 advance orders were received in the first three weeks of bookings, which began on April 13.

"We are convinced that HD is where TV is going. While we are very sorry that some customers will miss the World Cup in HDTV, one-third of orders for the service were already scheduled for after the competition and HDTV is a long-term thing for us," Sky said.

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