Terrestrial TV – All About Digital TV

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.

Software Update for Manhattan T3-R Freeview Box

Manhattan, a satellite and terrestrial set-top box manufacturer, has released a software update for the T3-R Freeview recorder box. The move indicates an ongoing desire by the manunfacturer to continue supporting older devices, despite the launch of a successor, the T4-R.

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.

UKTV to Rebrand in 2024

UKTV, part of the commercial arm of the BBC, have announced a name to be introduced during the summer of next year (2024). The name will also roll out to its streaming service and as a prefix to its channel line up.

Further Restructure of AMC UK Lineup

AMC Networks UK has made a further restructure of their channel lineup, following a similar exercise in 2022, which has seen the end of the use of the CBS brand. No changes have been made to platform availability, with the channel remaining on Freesat, Sky, Virgin Media, and Freeview.

Sky to Revamp Pick

Pick, a free-to-air channel operated by Sky but without Sky branding (similar to sister channel Challenge), is to be rebranded to Sky Mix. Existing programming will be maintained, however additional content from across Sky’s portfolio will be added.

Ideal World Ceases Broadcasts

Shopping channel Ideal World has ceased broadcasts, with the company entering administration. 250 staff are losing their jobs, whilst the channel is unlikely to return to TV screens.

Freeview Updates

A number of updates to the Freeview terrestrial line up have taken place recently.

Bilsdale Transmitter Enters Service

After almost 2 years of disruption due to a fire at the previous Bilsdale mast serving Teesside and North Yorkshire, the first transmissions from it’s replacement go live tomorrow (Monday 22nd May 2023).

BBC Football Coverage to Resume

As covered in mainstream media, a high profile dispute between the BBC and Gary Lineker resulted in significant coverage to football coverage of the weekend (11th/12th March 2023). The dispute resulted from opinions expressed on the presenter’s personal social media account relating to current government policy.