| British TV & Radio News December 2011 |
| Channel 5 regions, 5USA & 5* go FTA |
| Thursday, December 1, 2011 |
Channel 5 regional variations along with 5USA, 5USA+1, 5* and 5*+1 are all now broadcasting free-to-air (FTA) on the Astra 1N satellite at 28.2° east.
Channel 5's sister channels will be joining the Freesat platform on December 6, 2011. Freesat users will have to view the channels in non Freesat mode until then.
The move to free-to-air will allow the broadcaster and Freesat to prepare for the launch.
The Channel 5 family of channels (with the exception of Channel 5 HD), can be found on:
Transponder 57 (DVB-S/MPEG-2)
10.964 Horizontal
SR: 22000, FEC: 5/6 |
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| Two new channels launch on Freesat |
| Thursday, Decemcer 1, 2011 |
Two new channel have launched on Freesat:
Red Light, an adult channel is available on channel 875.
BoxOffice365, from Picturebox, this service allows Freesat customers the opportunity to access movies plus other TV programmes via an Internet connection, for a monthly subscription fee of £4.99 per month.
BoxOffice365 will initially be available on Humax Freesat receivers (FOXSAT-HD and FOXSAT-HDR) as a beta service and will be launched on more Freesat receivers over the coming months. BoxOffice365 can be found on channel
907.
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| Channel 5+1, 5USA, 5USA+1, 5* & 5*+1 join Freesat |
| Tuesday, December 6, 2012 |
Channel 5 today added Channel 5 +1, 5USA, 5USA +1, 5* and 5* +1 to the Freesat platform.
Freesat viewers will be able to watch some of the best comedy, sport, classic American action movies and popular dramas on 5USA including CSI New York, Numbers and Law and Order. The addition of 5* to the service will ensure that Freesat viewers have access to great soaps, films, entertainment, drama and documentaries with shows such as Alphas, Malcolm In The Middle and Sex and the City aired on the channel.
Adding Channels 5 +1, 5USA +1 and 5* +1 means that Freesat viewers can watch shows an hour after they’ve transmitted – adding to the flexibility Freesat viewers already have in watching their favourite programmes.
Freesat and Freeview viewers will have to wait until July 2012 for Channel 5 HD, as the channel is still under contract with Sky.
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| Ofcom proposes local TV locations |
| Tuesday, December 13, 2012 |
Ofcom has proposed 20 local TV sites across the UK for consultation, as part of the Government's plan to create a local television network.
The 20 sites are: Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Grimsby, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Preston, Southampton and Swansea. |
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These were selected from the sites where local TV is technically possible and where there is a potential local service operator. They were selected to achieve a range of locations across the UK, and a range of scales of operation, according to Ofcom. Evidence of strong local demand was also taken into account.
According to Ofcom, each of the selected towns or cities is the principal conurbation within the technically-possible coverage area. Some transmission areas cover secondary conurbations, and where coverage is good enough, Ofcom has stated they will consider applications for local services targeted at these.
Proposed additional sites, Ofcom added, should be in areas where there is an interested local service operator and believes these are currenty in Aberdeen, Ayr, Basingstoke, Cambridge, Derry, Dundee, Guildford, Maidstone, Middlesbrough, Mold, Sheffield, Stoke on Trent, Stratford upon Avon and York.
Ofcom will consult on the 20 locations later this month, along with the process of licensing both the local stations and the local TV multiplex operator. |
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| BBC and ITV to broadcast Euro 2012 |
| Tuesday, December 13, 2012 |
The BBC and ITV have been appointed by UEFA as the official broadcasters of UEFA EURO 2012 in the UK.
All 31 matches will be transmitted live across BBC and ITV and the broadcasters will also be able to show these via their respective internet and mobile platforms. The broadcasters will show a total of 16 matches each including the final which will be broadcast by both ITV and the BBC.
A daily highlights programme will be broadcast on each match day during the tournament and the BBC has the right to provide extensive coverage of the competition across its radio channels.
Philip Bernie, BBC Head of TV Sport, said: "The BBC is delighted to be showing the UEFA European Football Championship, a huge football event, which, along with the London Olympics, should ensure a fantastic sporting summer for BBC viewers.
"We are very happy with the live matches on BBC One, as they give us a strong climax to the event, with both semi-finals, as well as England's quarter-final if they progress.
Niall Sloane, ITV Controller of Sport, added: "I'm delighted that ITV has secured an outstanding selection of games through the tournament which includes England's opening game against France as well as a potential peak time group decider against hosts Ukraine." |
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| NME TV to close |
| Wednesday, December 14, 2011 |
NME TV will be closing on all platforms from the 5th January 2012. Posted on their Facebook page, they announced:
As you might have seen on the channel @nmetv will be closing on the 5th Jan so get your tissues out and watch it while you still can!
No reason for the closure has been give, though it is believed to be financial. |
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| Channel 5 HD not coming to Freeview |
| Friday, December 16 2011 |
Channel 5 has dropped its bid to take the fifth high definition channel slot on digital terrestrial television next year, throwing Ofcom's plans for the slot again into disarray.
In October, it emerged that Channel 5 was considered the frontrunner to acquire the fifth HD channel slot on DTT, essentially Freeview, after Ofcom closed its deadline for applications.
However, the regulator today said that the Richard Desmond-owned broadcaster has dropped plans to launch Channel 5 HD on Freeview in April 2012, despite the channel already being available on Sky and Virgin Media.
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Ofcom said that the spare capacity will be handed back to the BBC, and it will be up to the corporation to decide the future of the additional HD network.
"Ofcom has been notified by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited that it does not wish to proceed with its application for the fifth HD capacity slot on digital terrestrial TV at the present time," said Ofcom in a short statement.
"Subject to any future Ofcom decision to re-advertise the slot, the capacity will remain with the Multiplex operator BBC Free-to-View Limited and can be used by it for BBC services or services provided by a third party via a commercial arrangement."
Freeview HD currently offers four HD channels - BBC One HD, the BBC HD Channel (due to turn into the BBC Two HD under BBC plans), ITV1 HD and Channel 4 HD - but a fifth channel is scheduled to launch in April next year.
This latest development with Channel 5 bears similarities to the last time that the broadcaster was supposed to launch its HD network on Freeview.
After Channel 5 failed to meet Ofcom's requirements for launch of Channel 5 HD in March 2010, the capacity was handed back to the BBC, which enabled the surprise launch of BBC One HD in October that year.
The BBC now faces another dilemma over what to do with the spare capacity. It could maintain carriage of the BBC HD channel to provide an outlet for HD content from BBC Three and BBC Four, or it could launch an entirely new network, possibly one dedicated to HD sport in time for the Olympics.
Alternatively, an agreement could be reached with ITV, Channel 4 or another third-party broadcaster to bring a different HD channel to Freeview. |
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