The move is seen as an attempt to strengthen Sky's position against MTV following arguments between the two over carriage prices.
The channels are Flaunt, a pop channel playing chart hits; The Amp playing mainstream alternative music from artists such as White Stripes, Oasis, Doves, Coldplay and Massive Attack; and Scuzz aimed at 15- to 19-year-old men playing skate punk and nu metal with a playlist to include Queens of the
Stone Age, Foo Fighters, Good Charlotte and AFI.
Lester Mordue, BSkyB's head of music television, said: "Sky is entering the music category with the same passion it has for sport and other entertainment. Our channels will be highly interactive with a unique mix of music, lifestyle and entertainment that reflects their audience."
The channels will be up against a raft of MTV's own channels including the main MTV channel, alternative music channel MTV2, and dance channel MTV Bass. Sky will also be competing against Emap, which has half a dozen of its own channels, some based on the content of its magazines including Kerrang, Q and Smash Hits.
The news follows speculation that Sky is also set to launch a new entertainment channel by the end of the year based on its Sky One entertainment channel.
Like the music channels, it is unclear if any of these will feature on the free digital TV service Freeview in which Sky is a partner along with Crown and the BBC. Last year, Emap Performance signed a deal for carriage of its The Hits channel on all digital TV platforms, including Freeview, while MTV launched its The Music Factory channel on Freeview against The Hits.
BSkyB hired Dawn Airey last year as managing director of its Sky Networks division and she is expected to announce a raft of channel launches this year.
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