Category: Terrestrial TV

Here you can find posts relating to terrestrial TV platforms (via aerial), such as Freeview in the United Kingdom, and Soarview in the Republic of Ireland.

Sky Arts on Freeview, What We Know So Far

Helpfully, information has been rather drip fed, but more details have now been confirmed for Sky’s Freeview channels.

On Freeview, Sky Arts will be available on channel number 11, and will be broadcast on the COM5 multiplex, from the 17th September (2020) Sky Pick will move from channel 11 to channel 34, but will remain on the same multiplex. Depending on your equipment, a re-tune may be required.

It appears that Challenge is continuing, at the least for the time being. There is currently capacity on the COM5 multiplex, meaning that Sky Arts can be added without the need to close another channel.

Merit appears likely to close, once it has given Sky Pick the 34 channel number, but this has not been confirmed. Additionally, Sky Arts will also be available on Freesat channel 147.

Merit Ownership Change

It is being reported that the recently launched Merit has had its license transferred from ITV to Sky.

Under Freeview rules, channel operators cannot transfer or sell channel numbers. It appears that to get around this, ITV have created Merit in order to transfer the channel number to Sky.

Sky are planning on launching Sky Arts as a free to air channel, and Merit’s channel number could be used for the new Freeview version of the channel, possibly being combined within the bandwidth currently used by Sky owned challenge.

At this time, any potential development is simply speculation. Another scenario, given that Merit has focused on food, home, and gardening programmes, is that Sky may be planning on launching their own food or home related channel. Merit could end up forming the basis of this.

Although Merit launched on Freeview only, the channel has been broadcasting on satellite using CITV downtime, although did not join the Sky or Freesat EPG.

There are likely to be more developments in the Merit story.

Update: 23/08/2020. I’ve since learnt that Sky Arts is to take channel number 11, meaning Sky Pick would take 34 as this would be the highest Sky owned channel number. It is still unclear what will happen to Challenge.

Viewer Difficulties Following Re-tune

Following the Freeview re-tune event on 12th August (2020), as part of the clearance of frequencies for 5G mobile networks, the BBC is reporting that some viewers have hit difficulties.

Despite re-tuning, some viewers have been unable to restore all channels. The exact number of viewers affected is not available, but has been described as ‘many’. The areas and channels affected are also unknown.

Freeview, who oversee the terrestrial TV network in the UK, has said that anybody experiencing issues should contact them. The problem causing the issues is unknown.

STV Player Launches Across the UK

The catch up service from Scottish broadcaster STV, STV Player, is now available nationally across the UK.

1500 hours of free content are currently available on the service. With the service now available UK wide, Freeview Play has eight on demand players available for free.

STV is the ITV franchise holder for central and north Scotland, and is the only franchise not directly controlled by ITV itself.

New Director for BBC Scotland

Steve Carson has been appointed the new director of BBC Scotland, and will replace Donalda MacKinnon when she steps down later this year.

Steve Carson is currently the Head of Multi-Platform Commissioning for BBC Scotland, and is known for both content making and commissioning.

In his new position which he will take up in the Autumn, he will be responsible for leading 1100 staff who produce content across TV, radio, and digital platforms, in both Gaelic and English.

FA Cup Sets Viewing Record

The final of the FA Cup football tournament on August 1st (2020) between Arsenal and Chelsea was the most watched match of the season.

BARB data shows a peak of 8.2 million viewers watch the BBC’s coverage across all platforms, surpassing the 7.3 million for the semi-final match between Chelsea and Manchester United.

The top five most viewed football matches across the 2019-2020 season were all FA Cup games, and all were shown on the BBC.

Additionally, BT Sport also showed the FA Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea, and as the viewing figures are only for the BBC’s coverage, the actual number of viewers of the match will be even higher.

Major Businesses Donate Advertisment Airtime

On 31st July (2020) Channel 4 showed an exclusive ad break, during Cats Does Countdown on Channel 4, which saw airtime donated to six independent businesses:

  • Devine Flowers in Maidenhead, supported by Lloyds Bank
  • Jokoto Tailoring in Bristol, supported by American Express
  • Kool Kuts in Brixton, supported by Channel 4
  • Larch Green Alpacas, Glasgow, supported by Bought by Many
  • LV Property in Birmingham, supported by Rightmove
  • Seamus O’Donnells in Bristol, supported by Coca-Cola

American Express, Bought by Many, Coca-Cola, Lloyds Bank, and Rightmove each donated 30 seconds of airtime, with the remainder donated by Channel 4. The ad break was also shown on E4, Film4, More4, 4Music and catch-up service All4.

The aim of the ‘The Great High Street Comeback’ campaign was to help support independent businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and show that the high street is open for business again

Eh, a News Post on a Wednesday? Merit Change

I’m making a one off exception to the recently introduced news update schedule (i.e. new updates should occur on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays), as the Merit channel has thrown up a new development. The channel has moved to temporary multiplex COM7.

An onscreen message reveals the channel is back at 9pm, suggesting the originally reported broadcast hours of 9pm to midnight are in fact correct. The logo consists of orange text in a handwritten script font style, and does not follow the ITV corporate style, or feature the ITV logo.

I’m sure there will be more developments to this channel to report on in the near future.

Freeview Channel Changes

From tomorrow (29th July 2020), some Freeview services are changing.

Ketchup/Yaaas (streamed service on devices connected to the internet) will be separating, becoming Ketchup on the existing channel number, and Yaaas on channel 212. This returns Ketchup and Yaaas to their original format, prior to merging as one portal.

A new channel Country Music Entertainment, will be launching on channel 98, and will be a 24/7 country music service. This channel will be on the Greater Manchester multiplex, so coverage will be restricted to the Greater Manchester area, but viewers others parts of UK with internet connected devices can access the streamed version via channel 271*. The streamed version is also in HD.

The Freeview website also states that new channel Merit is changing the way it is broadcast. The change is unclear, but this normally means the service is switching to a different multiplex.

In most cases, a partial retune or add new channels function should make the necessary adjustments for these changes to take affect on your device, but a full retune may still be required in some cases. Some devices may adjust automatically. Consult your device manufacturer if unsure.

*Update (29th July 2020): Thanks to Country Music Entertainment for letting me know about the streamed version of the channel.

5G Clearance Resumes

The clearance of Freeview terrestrial TV frequencies has resumed, in order to make way for 5G mobile phone signals. YouView users (inlcuding BT TV, Plusnet TV, and Talk Talk TV) are also affected, as these sevices incorporate Freeview services.

Viewers in North East Wales, North West England, and the Creetown, Gosforth and St Bees areas of the ITV Border region will need to retune on the 12th August (2020). Viewers in the Isle of Man and Kendal area will need to retune on 19th August.

In general, viewers receiving TV from a main transmitter (eg. those who recieve channels such as Dave and Quest) will need to retune from 6am. Viewers who receive a relay service (ie. only BBC, and the main ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 channels), will need to wait until early afternoon before attempting a retune.

In some areas, only some of the relays are affected, although short interruptions may still occur.

The exact method for retuning will vary depending on the device, although as the frequencies are changing, a first time installation, or full scan may be required. Consult the instruction manual or manufacturer for information on how to do this.

If you use a Freeview recorder or YouView device with recording capabilities, it is worth noting down what programmes are set to record, as some devices may reset series links (although previously recorded programmes are safe).

Normally, I would list the full details of the transmitters affected, but I don’t currently have this information.