| British TV & Radio News September 2011 |
| Freeview to get fifth HD channel in 2012 |
| Monday, September 5 2011 |
Ofcom is inviting applications for a fifth HD channel on Freeview which could appear by April 1 next year.
The regulator said capacity for a new channel has been made avsilable following a reshuffle of TV services and the switch to DVB-T2 and MPEG-4.
The invitation is open to public service broadcasters and the deadline for applications is October 17. Ofcom said its decision to award a licence will be based on 'an assessment of how the new capacity will contribute to enhancing the range and diversity of high quality television services available on DTT'.
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| Sagemcom will produce the first next-generation Freesat receivers in early 2012, followed by Humax |
| Thursday, September 8 2011 |
Freesat’s next-generation specification, known as Freesat G2, will include DiSEqC, single cable routing and core support for iPlayer-style hybrid TV services.
It’s designed around faster, broadband-ready digital TV chipsets coming onto the market this year.
Emma Scott, managing director of Freesat, said: ‘Freesat has worked closely with both Sagemcom and Humax in the past and we are pleased to be partnering with them again on our exciting next stage of product development.
‘We have now hit the two million sales mark, beating our original projections and adding more homes each quarter than any other TV platform. An important part of our success to date has been the quality of our technology and the manufacturing partners we work with.’
Freesat also revealed that 47 per cent of its new viewers in 2011 are former Sky customers swapping pay-TV for free.
Prototypes of both manufacturers’ new products for Freesat and Freeview were expected at this weekend’s IBC broadcast technology show - more details soon.
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| BT & TalkTalk to offer subsidised YouView boxes |
| Thursday, September 8 2011 |
Internet providers BT and TalkTalk could sell could sell set-top boxes for the YouView broadband TV service for as little as £80.
YouView, which will mix Freeview HD and Freesat HD PVRs with free and paid-for video-on-demand services, is planning to launch in early 2012.
BT and TalkTalk are partners in the service, along with the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Freeview transmitter operator Arqiva.
TV industry trade newspaper Broadcast reports that the two ISPs are expected to slash the cost of YouView boxes for customers who sign up to their broadband packages.
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YouView chairman Lord Sugar is believed to be keen to keep the cost low to compete with the subsidised set-top boxes from Sky and Virgin.
Unsubsidised YouView boxes will also be available from retailers without a subscription, but are expected to cost around the £200 price of today’s Freeview and Freesat hi-def recorders. |
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| REAL Digital launch delayed until October |
| Wednesday, September 14 2011 |
The launch of REAL Digital has been delayed until the start of October. A start date of September 1 had previously been given. A Facebook page for the combined free to air and pay TV satellite service recently cited firmware problems with Fortec Star receivers as an issue.
Initally to be sold by Maplin, the Fortec Star Real Digital HD zapper box is currently in production and will be the first to go on sale priced £160. It will be followed by the Digital Stream Real HD+ PVR in November priced £300. Both were on show at the IBC show in Amsterdam this week. REAL Digital said further 'premium' receivers are likely to follow from as-yet-unnamed manufacturers. More hardware details and a launch date are expected to be announced at the end of the month.
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| Channel 5 programmes removed from SeeSaw |
| Thursday, September 15 2011 |
Channel 5 programmes have slipped off SeeSaw, as the struggling online TV website also suffers the blow of three key executives departing.
Platform controller John Keeling, commercial director Matt Rennie and product director Richard Dines have all resigned from the firm, reports Paid:Content.
The website says that some of the remaining 15 staff at SeeSaw are in talks over their future with Criterion Capital Partners, which acquired a majority stake in the firm from Arqiva last month.
The resignations are another blow following a report that former Channel 4 chief executive Michael Jackson had walked away from his role as chairman designate of SeeSaw, as the online TV site struggles to secure its financial future.
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It is understood that Criterion has been so far unable to lock down funding for SeeSaw from its lead backer in the investment consortium Weston Capital.
Channel 5 shows have now dropped off the site, following Channel 4's disappearance last week, meaning that SeeSaw no longer has any catch-up TV content.
The site now only offers archive shows from BBC Worldwide and some independent producers, and this lack of content risks losing its estimated 900,000 monthly unique users.
The technology underpinning SeeSaw, which Arqiva acquired from the defunct video on-demand venture Project Kangaroo, still has value and so Criterion may look to redeploy it in another market or sell it on to another company.
Arqiva, which initially announced plans in May to close SeeSaw after failing in its 16-month search to find a buyer, is to retain a 25% stake in the company under the new arrangement.
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