There are changes afoot at One HD. Some subtle, some not so, but very quickly it’s working to position itself as the other man-cave channel to haunt. Gone are the hours of wtf-was-that sport from god-knows-where, now only live sport gets air time. Theme nights with shows like Ax Men getting a run, as well as some recent release movies. It’s a smart move that isn’t paying off yet – but it will as more and more events like this get an airing. From the press release:

ONE HD is pleased to announce that for the first time in the history of the ASP World Tour, The Quiksilver Pro presented by Land Rover – one of the biggest surfing events in the world – will be broadcast LIVE on free-to-air television.

The Quiksilver Pro, which will be held at the southern end of the Gold Coast’s iconic point break Snapper Rocks, between February 26 and March 9, will kick start the 2011 ASP Men’s World Tour.

ONE HD which will broadcast the world class event LIVE from February 26 at 10am (AEDST), will boast the world’s top male surfers including the reigning and ten-time ASP Men’s World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), two-time ASP Men’s World Champion Mick Fanning (AUS), and hometown hero Joel Parkinson (AUS). As part of the multi-year deal with Quiksilver, ONE HD will also broadcast the first stop on the 2011 ASP Women’s World Tour, The Roxy Pro presented by Land Rover, which will feature one of the most exciting fields of women surfers in the history of the sport including reigning and four-time champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) and Carissa Moore (HAW).

In addition, ONE HD has obtained the rights to broadcast The Quiksilver Pro France (October 2011) and the inaugural Quiksilver Pro New York (Long Beach) in September which is the first ASP World Tour pro surfing competition to be held on the East Coast of America.

David White, General Manager – Sport said: “Since the inception of ONE HD, we have broadcast a variety of surfing review programs as well as 12 one hour event highlight shows from 2008, 2009 and 2010.”

“To be broadcasting a surfing event of this calibre on ONE HD is a real coup and enables surfing fans, for the first time, to watch all of the action live on free-to-air television. It further cements our commitment to delivering a variety of live sport events on free-to-air television.”

Greg Healy, President of Quiksilver Asia Pacific, said: “Quiksilver is delighted that The Quiksilver and Roxy Pro are going live on free to air TV in Australia for the first time in the history of the ASP World Championship Tour. This is a significant step for the promotion of the sport of surfing.”

“ONE HD is a premium sports channel so this is an ideal platform to showcase the three Quiksilver WCT events at the Gold Coast, France and New York and the Roxy Pro on the Gold Coast. Quiksilver invests a great deal into running these world class events and we are excited that Network Ten share our desire to take surfing into every living room in Australia,” Healy added.

The Quiksilver & Roxy Pro – from Sat 26/02 10am (AEDST), One HD.