Terrestrial TV – Page 13 – All About Digital TV

Upcoming Freeview Changes

There will be changes to Freeview services on 6th/7th January. Some services will only be moving to a new channel number, whilst others will be moving to new frequencies.

As some channels are moving frequency, a retune will be required to restore missing channel. Viewers receiving Freeview from a relay are not expected to be affected, as the changes only affect channels on the commercial frequencies (Arqiva A & B, SDN, COM7 & 8).

Full details of channel changes have been difficult to pin down, as reports have been rather conflicting. As such, a summary of the changes will be posted here after the event.

Sewing Quarter to Close TV Channel

Shopping channel Sewing Quarter is to close, following its owner Immediate Media’s decision to exit from the TV business. Sister channel Jewellery Maker is being sold to Gemporia, who originally launched the channel.

The Sewing Quarter TV channel will close later this month, with discussions regarding the sale of the remaining business ongoing. The website will continue to take orders. Customers that have gift cards, vouchers, or credit will need to use these before 17th January 2020.

Sewing Quarter was only launched in 2017, and is currently available Freeview 73, Sky 687, and online.

5Spike to Merge with Paramount Network

ViacomCBS owned 5Spike and Paramount Network are set to merge. 5Spike will close, with Paramount Network becoming a male skewed action and reality channel. The changes will take place on Tuesday 7th January 2020.

On platforms where Paramount Network occupies a lower channel number than 5Spike, Paramount Network will take over 5Spikes channel number.

On satellite, Paramount Network is moving to Channel 5’s main transponder. The changes will take effect automatically, and viewers should not need to take any action to continue watching Paramount Network.

5Spike first launched as Spike in 2015, with Paramount Network appearing on UK screens in 2018.

TBN Moves on Freeview

TBN UK has moved to the BBC B HD multiplex, giving the channel a near UK wider coverage on Freeview. The channel broadcasts religious programming, and is available on channel number 65.

Although not in HD, Freeview HD (DVB-T2) equipement is required to view the channel.

Freeview Reshuffle

A number of changes have taken place on Freeview recently.

Starting with Channel 4, Film 4 +1, E4 +1, and More 4 +1 have moved to different frequencies. E4 +1 and Film 4 +1 have swapped places. E4 +1 now has expanded coverage, and is now available on PSB2 (D3&4), meaning the channel is now available from all transmitters. Film 4 +1 has made the opposite move, and can now be found on COM4. As a consequence, this channel can only be found on main transmitters, with around 90% coverage.

More 4 +1 has been moved from PSB3 (BBC B), the HD multiplex, to COM7. COM7 is one of two temporary multiplexes, currently being phased out to make way for 5G mobile phone services. The space vacated is currently vacant, with a suggestion that the capacity might be used for another HD service (More 4 +1 is standard definition only).

PBS America has also moved from temporary multiplex COM8 to COM6, expanding its coverage area. The channel is available from 1pm to 11pm, and can be found on channel 91. PBS America +1 has launched using the vacated capacity on COM8, and is available 24 hours a day on channel 93.

Together TV has made a less dramatic move. Frequencies have stayed the same, but the channel has moved slightly up the list, and is now on channel 88. Together TV+1 can now be found on channel 89.

+1 Moves on Freeview

Whilst I normally wait until I have the full story before publishing a news article, today I make an exception as the information will be of benefit to viewers.

Freeview are advising viewers to to retune on 5th November, as changes are being made to way in which Film4+1 and More4+1 are broadcast. It is understood that these channels will be moving to a different frequency.

Freeview are also advising a further retune will be required on 14th November in order to continue receiving E4+1, and this could be part of a wider channel reshuffle. Following a renumbering by Channel 4 earlier this year, it is clear that E4 is an important part of their plans. Therefore it would appear that a coverage boost to E4+1 appears likely. through a frequency/multiplex slot.

Currently, Film4+1 and More4+1 are on PSB (public service broadcaster) frequencies, with E4+1 on a commercial frequency with reduced coverage area.

More details will be posted on TelevisionSRS when available.

CBS Drama to be Upgraded on Freeview

CBS Drama will return to 24 hour broadcasting on Freeview from 1st November, expanding from the current arrangement of broadcasts from 1pm to 11pm.

The improvement has been made possible by Sony’s service reductions earlier in the summer. The change will also benefit YouView users, which piggyback of Freeview for some of the channels. If you are a BT, TalkTalk or Plusnet TV customer, your service will delivered through YouView.

CBS Drama has previously been a full time service on Freeview, but had its hours reduced in November 2017.

More Channel Closures

AMC will become high definition (HD) only from Thursday, when the standard definition version of the channel on the Sky satellite platform will come to an end. A small number of viewers with non HD equipment will loose access to the channel. The HD version remains unchanged. Asian music service MTV Beats will also leave the Sky platform in the next week.

Over on the Virgin Media cable platform, standard definition versions of TLC, Quest, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Eurosport 1, and Eurosport 2 have been removed. Where the HD version of the channel was on a lower number, the channel has been promoted to the higher number. Some of the HD channels were on a higher subscription package, but these have been moved down to the former standard definition channels subscription tiers, so no viewers will lose access to the channels.

As all Virgin Media boxes in use are HD compatible, the standard definition versions of the channels were effectively redundant. No viewers will be impacted by the change.

Meanwhile, Your TV has closed on all platforms. The channel was free-to-air, and was acquired by Disney with the Fox business. Disney currently operated no free-to-air channels in the UK.

More HD Conversions and Channel Closures

As all Virgin Media boxes in use are HD compatible, the standard definition versions of the channels were effectively redundant. No viewers will be impacted by the change.

Meanwhile, Your TV has closed on all platforms. The channel was free-to-air, and was acquired by Disney with the Fox business. Disney currently operated no free-to-air channels in the UK.

Freeview Changes

Newton TV Transmitter — Newton relay Freeview transmitter.

Discovery’s Quest +1 has changed frequency on Freeview, and is now broadcasting 24 hours a day. The timeshift of Quest now occupies space released by Sony following reductions in their TV portfolio. Viewers will need to retune in order to continue watching Quest +1 on channel number 76.

The move will allow arts and crafts channel Hochanda to broadcast 24 hours a day on Freeview channel 86, from the 2nd of October. Hochanda had been slot sharing with Quest since 2017, handing over to Quest at 7pm. On connected devices, Hochanda continued to be available as an online stream after 7pm.

Meanwhile, on Sky and Freesat, Ideal World is switching to HD broadcasts. Ideal World HD and sister channel Create & Craft HD will be available on the existing channel numbers. As the services are switching to HD, the old standard definition feeds will be switched off. This means users of old non-HD equipment will no longer be able to view these channels