Satellite – All About Digital TV

Eurosport to Close in the UK

Warner Bros. Discovery, owers of both TNT Sports (formerley BT Sport) and Eurosport, have announced that the UK and Ireland version of Europort is to close. Content is moving over to TNT Sports, giving Warner Bros. Discovery a single sports brand for the UK.

Eden Goes Free-to-Air

UKTV, a commercial subsidiary of the BBC, has converted Eden into a free-to-air channel, with ‘U&’ branding in common practice with others channels owned by UKTV. U&Eden is now available on both Freeview (terrestial) and Freesat (satellite).

Ayozat TV Stops Sky Broadcasts

Ayozat TV, which only recently moved to a high up channel number, has been abrubtly removed from the Sky satellite platfom. The channel remains available online, with plans announced to switch to “Freeview Digital” (directly quoted from official announcment).

Sky Commits to Satellite Until 2029

Sky, who operate the satellite based Sky Q and internet based Sky Glass/Stream, has committed to offering services via satellite until 2029.

That’s TV Revises UK Wide Lineup

That’s TV has made further changes to its UK lineup which sits along side various localised versions of its main channel. Six natioanl channels are now availble, split evenly between general entertainment and specialised music services.

Tiny Pop to Return to the Airwaves

Children’s channel Tiny Pop is to return to traditional broadcasts this month, after converting to streaming only back in March. Sister channel Great Real, which took over bandwith used to transmit Tiny Pop, is closing down after an existence of less than 6 months.

Licence Fee to Be Retained

The new Labour led UK Government has confirmed a commitement to the TV Licence providing some certainty on how the BBC will be funded going forward. There had been some debate on the best way forward for funding the state owned public service broadcaster, amid a rise to streaming services such as Netflix meaning some no longer required a TV licence.

Box Plus Network Closes Down

Satellite and cable channels The Box, 4Music, Kerrang, Kiss and Magic, all closed down at midnight on 1st July (2024), bring in an end to what had been known as The Box Plus Network. Channel 4 have axed the channels in the first move away from linear broadcasts.

Freesat Scraps Remote Recording

Freesat has removed remote recording functionaility from its mobile apps. Remote recording allowed users to programme recordings on compatible Freesat recievers remotely via their mobile phone (when both devices were connected to the internet).

Rewind TV Launches

Rewind TV, and independently operated TV channel dedicated to showing classic British TV shows, launched on 23rd May (2024). The channel is available free-to-air on satellite.