Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

That was my thinking. You'd think Freesat would acknowledge the trend and just say +1s are free. Having the greatest possible number of channels is in their interest to attract users and would in turn make the platform more attractive for non-+1s, which would be charged the listing fee.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Whilst a sensible idea, that would fall foul of the 'fair, reasonable and non discriminatory' EPG rules.

---------- Post added at 19:15 ---------- Previous post was at 19:11 ----------

Looks like you're right, a reliable source has told me that Freesports HD won't be encrypted. I'm still not sure why the Freesat data has been removed though, perhaps it will be FTA, just not on the Freesat EPG??

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I was suggesting it be retroactive the no-fee for +1 idea, it wouldn't discriminate against existing +1s as they would get those terms too.

Are these TV Industry rules you are talking about? Or Freesat policy?

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

It would reduce the income to Freesat short term (and they probably wouldn't go for this as Freesat is loss making and they have outstanding debt), but long term I think it would be a good idea.

Ofcom regulate EPG guides (their powers to do this are derived from the 2003 Communications Act).

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

FreeSports HD has been announced for Sky launch on 15th July in a tweet today. A reply to the tweet by someone asking about FreeSat suggests that although it won't be on the FreeSat HD EPG on that date it will be manually tuneable. Reading between the lines, the wording suggests it will be on FreeSat EPG at some point.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

The BBC summer Red Button channels now have Freesat data. 'BBC RB 2' - 'BBC RB 6' are in the test region on LCNs 982-986. 'BBC RB HD' is on 980.

Now/next EPG data commences 15/7/19.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I've now been told by a trusted source that Freesports HD will be available on Freesat :)

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Home is to be replaced by a UK version of Home and Garden TV (HGTV). No further details available as yet.

This is the first change since the UKTV split.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Sony Crime channel is dropping it's drama content from it's schedule from 1/7/19:

https://www.rxtvlog.com/2019/06/sony...s-channel.html

Viewing figures for Sony Crime channel have been very low since launch, maybe Sony are gearing up for another channel closure??

Channel 5 have reached agreement with Pluto TV to stream three of their channels on it's my5 online service:

https://www.rxtvlog.com/2019/06/my5-...-channels.html

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Freesports HD has now been confirmed as coming to Freesat. It will be sometime after it's launch on Sky (which is 15/7/19).

Travel XP (having recently left Freeview) is to restart on Sky from 1/8/19, no word about Freesat yet.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I've read that the UK was the only market Travelxp was in SD. Maybe this restart will be HD.

I wonder if FreeSports will switch off SD on satellite.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I didn't know that, maybe it will return in HD then :)

Yes, Freesports will be switching off their SD feed. Not sure what they'll do once the HD valiant is on Sky whilst they wait for Sky do sort out the adaptation hub for Freesat. Maybe SD and HD will run in tandem for a short time, or the HD feed will be downscaled for Freesat??

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I have seen online that TravelXP will launch on August 1st on Sky Channel 185 (Propeller TV old EPG slot).

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Well they need a SD feed for Freeview still, so maybe they will downscale for both? Or keep it off-EPG like in-store TV streams. ;)

What does an adaptation hub actually do? I'm surprised to say I haven't heard of one before. If it is what it sounds like I don't see what Sky has to do with it, broadcasters buy transmission space from satellite companies, Sky don't own any satellites.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

If a channel is on Sky, it will have data associated with the Sky EPG included with the transmission signal. If a company also wants their channel (using the same capacity) to be on Freesat, it will need Freesat data.

The problem though, is that this would interfere with the Sky data, therefore, Sky have to make adaptations to ensure that the Freesat data is applied correctly, without it affecting their own platform.

They have to do this if requested, but do make a charge for it (it's all done remotely from Osterley).

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Further to the above (and slightly besides the topic), Sky has been known to speculatively buy up much more sat transponder space than it actually needs. Whether it sub-leases I don’t know, but it has been blamed for the shortage of available UK spot-beam capacity in the past.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Sky actually helped to pay for one of the Astra satellites when Sky Digital started, in return they received discounts on capacity of up to 50%.

This would tie in with what you say Chris and could be the reason why they managed to persuade some channels to encrypt. They could have offered cheap capacity on their own transponders to keep channels off Freesat and require a Sky card, whilst still making a profit.

I've no idea how long the discounts were for, but i'd imagine for the expenses of paying for a satellite that it would be for a considerable length of time. Sky Digital launched in 1998, so if it was for, say, twenty years, this could be the reason why Sky are now no longer incentivising (bribing) channels to encrypt or help with exclusive HD launches.

Sky have recently been actually closing HD channels and kicking others out of the Sub Club, whilst at the same time moving third party channels off their own transponders and making technical changes to make more efficient use of their own capacity.

It all seems to tie in together.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Thanks for those replies both of you.

I'm amazed that the EPG data format wasn't an industry standard they both used. I'd assumed it was just the EPG numbering/layout that was separated and neither interfered with either other.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

The HD version of Freesports is now on 252. However, on Humax Foxsat boxes, the change will not be apparent until the 3am houskeeping task runs tonight.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

The SD, as you said, has been removed from Sky. I've not looked to see if FreeSat is swapping or replacing. And we'll soon see whether they keep it running off-guide or downscale the HD version for Freeview.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Freesports SD is still broadcasting on 11426 V 27500 5/6, even though it left Freesat & Sky yesterday.

I can't see them going to the expense of continuing this for SD only satellite boxes and/or Freeview though and expect it to eventually be removed and the HD feed downscaled for any SD feeds required.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Quite. Will all depend on which is the cheapest way to distribute to Freeview for them.

Whether they get one of those recently vacated Freeview slots may indirectly play a part. If they don't get on a more permanent multiplex soon they may be gone from that platform when the two temporary multiplexes get switched off, I believe it could happen as early as 2021/2. They won't want to outlay money for a short term endeavour if they don't get long term space.

The only broadcaster that has confirmed wider Freeview coverage recently is, of course, Together TV. Given Smithsonian are running TV ads at the moment on other channels and in newspapers/magazines I suspect they have got one too. That leaves one left.

Funny how one platform can indirectly affect another. :)

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

It is odd, but it's so often the case that what happens on one platform affects another. Didn't know Smithsonian had got a permanent Freeview slot :)

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I didn't say Smithsonian had, sorry if it read that way. I merely guessed it had based on the promo ads I've seen a lot on TV recently and print ads in magazines and newspapers.

The interesting thing with all these TV and newspaper adverts is that there were no channel numbers in any of them, just platform logos.

My logic was that if they are greatly upping their marketing they must have a reason.

I also think they might have got the True Crime channel numbers from Sony (on certain platforms, not all) by buying the channel. You can't trade numbers on Freeview, you need to own the channels to swap numbers and the Freeview status page said True Crime was temporarily away (like Keep It Country/Spotlight), as opposed to closed. And on Sky, Smithsonian were one of the few obvious big (relatively speaking budget wise) channels at that end of Sky's EPG that would want TC's number. Two birds one stone to coin the phrase.

So sorry if you read it that way, I'm just reading between the lines.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I do hope that Smithsonian get a permanent slot as they are one of the better quality Freeview channels.

Travel XP is now testing on satellite with a testcard, but it's also believed that there is another channel testing called Food XP. A search reveals that this is an Italian food channel, so maybe they are bringing this to the UK??

No confirmation yet if either will be on Freesat, but i'm as sure as I can be that they'll be FTA, so could be manually tuned in if need be.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I agree about Smithsonian Channel, I watched a surprising amount of it.

I think Together TV gets its wider coverage on Freeview from 22nd so maybe the other two slots will launch then, whoever has obtained them, or at least we'll find out who had them.

This in turn might clear up some Satellite moves. The Discovery channel moves on Sky just announced included a promotion of Travel Channel up the EPG again, so maybe it will return to Freesat? (Though obviously it is still manually tuneable currently.)

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Richard, the TravelXP/FoodXP pair have been confirmed on Sky. Wonder if they'll come to FreeSat. The tuning details are in the RXTVlog article, so like you say there'll likely be a DIY option, assuming it's FTA.
https://www.rxtvlog.com/2019/07/trav...gside-new.html

Can't say I'd heard of FoodXP until you mentioned it.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Thanks for the link, this confirms that the food channel is actually Asian and not Italian.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Retro Movies is gearing up for a launch on Freesat.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Added just now on channel 307.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Thanks Richard

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

If anyone here has a 4K/UHD TV, you should be able to test it out with the UHD test channel.

To access it, press 998 on your remote control (998 doesn't exist on the EPG).

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I’ll give that a try when I get home, but AFAIK you would need a Freesat box capable of delivering 4K via its HDMI output in order to actually see the channel in 4K. I don’t know whether there are any Freesat branded boxes on the market that boast 4K capability. I know my Humax doesn’t (1080i is the limit).

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I think that Humax do a 4K box and some Freesat integrated TV's are 4K too.

It will be interesting to find out what is displayed on a non 4K set. I imagine the test channel will be shown, but only in HD.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Drama +1 looks like it's coming to satellite.

We know that UKTV is run as a separate commercial operation from the BBC so, just because the BBC part owns Freesat, it doesn't neccesarily follow that new & existing UKTV timeshifts will go onto Freesat to simply beef up it's line-up.

However, with full BBC studio involvement and the BBC's support of Freesat it does make any additional time shifts that launch a tad more likely to join the platform. Dave ja Vu and Yesterday +1 are FTV Encrypted as they are on a pan European footprint beam. There's capacity for these on UKTV's main transponder once Home, Good Food and Really move out as is likely after Discovery took full ownership of them.

Drama +1, Yesterday +1 and Dave ja vu would be welcome additions to Freesat, but I very much doubt that UKTV would put Yesterday HD and Drama HD onto Freesat if they decided to create them*.

Drama +1 appears to be testing on:

12.129 V SR 27500 FEC 2/3 DVB-S QPSK. Currently labelled as 25113 and showing colour bars and tone.

*On this transponder (which only contains UKTV channels), there are also two HD testcards that are currently FTA. I bet these will become encrypted, but you never know!

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Interesting, Richard. Thanks.

I'm kinda surprised, I thought they might just continue to push UKTVPlay and get rid of all their +1s, as +1s don't exactly get sparkling ratings and the running costs would surely be less. And people are moving toward streaming and Catch-up over +1s.

The running costs for Dave Ja Vu on Freeview particularly can't be worthwhile, given that platform's relatively much higher running costs. It would surely be more worthwhile for them to make Eden FTA and use Dave Ja Vu's Freeview slot. Eden's ratings are by far the lowest of the UKTV Pay channels they still have.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

The +1's are cheap to produce and allow channels to get more eyeballs on their adverts, so they can charge more and make more profit.

For those who record everything they can still be useful as, even with the 6 V6 tuners, there are still occasions where this isn't enough! They're also useful to have a further chance to record something if a recording is interrupted for some reason.

I take your point about streaming/catch up services though, so who knows how long the timeshift channels will continue.

I hope they are around for a long time to come, as I prefer to watch a recording over streaming, my reasons are that a recording isn't time limited, catch up services often don't have subtitles, I can't use Quickview and it's not as easy to control the stream as it is a recording due to the delay in the command being processed over the internet.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I agree with much of what you say there Richard. Especially regarding preferring recordings.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Drama +1 has now been added to VM, has it been added to Freesat too?

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Thanks Richard ,

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

According to poster lovinthetelly on DigitalSpy both Ideal World HD and Create & Craft HD are carrying Freesat data now. So there's two additions.

The lack of this data, so far, on Drama +1, and that the other UKTV FTA channels haven't got their +1s on Freesat makes Drama+1 being add on its own unlikely. If they do it they'll add all of them at once, in my opinion.

---------- Post added at 12:58 ---------- Previous post was at 11:36 ----------

UPDATE. This tweet from Drama Channel's Twitter account suggests it's only Sky and Virgin Media that are getting the +1 version.
https://twitter.com/dramachannel/sta...50781179596800

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Been showing various sports, enjoy while you can!

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

The following shopping channels have now switched over to HD on Freesat, according to lovinthetelly on DigitalSpy. To clarify, SD has been removed from FreeSat.

812 - 'Ideal World'
813 - 'Create & Craft'

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Channelbox is coming to Freeview. I am not convinced this is likely to fly unless they put content that is worth watching on there.

Good idea, but crap implementation would be my view on this.

https://advanced-television.com/2019...s-on-freeview/

Channelbox launches on Freeview

[Extract]

Channelbox – a new streaming TV service that bundles a curated selection of free-to-air TV channels of various genres and languages – is delivering them to the Freeview platform (on channel 271) via OTT.

Channelbox includes such TV channels as France24, Hellenic TV, Faith UK, Retro Movies and Law&Crime. More channels will be announced in the near future.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Nick Jr is currently being shown FTA using the following parameters:

11.171 H, 22.000, 5/6, DVB-S, QPSK.

The channel is currently labelled as 51112. I doubt it's joining Freesat, so let your kids enjoy it while you can :)

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Don't know if they will come to Freesat, but it's been reported that Yesterday +1 and Dave Ja Vue have finally gone FTA. As these are both owned by the BBC, I think it extremely likely that they will come to Freesat.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

They are owned by BBC Studios, which is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. That means it is entirely funded by the revenue it generates. Profits may subsidise the licence fee, but the licence fee may not be used to subsidise BBC Studios. While the strategy does now appear to be full FTA broadcast, the fact it is ultimately owned by the BBC is no guarantee of that in this case.

In the case of Freesat particularly, many channels have legacy contracts with Sky guaranteeing they will only be distributed with Sky encryption on the Sky EPG. In the past, this has allowed Dave to go FTA on Freeview years before getting into the Freesat EPG.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

They might as well add them (and Drama +1 too) as it would enhance the platform that the BBC co own and increase ad reach. Now that Freesat has moved into making a profit, a huge chunk of the EPG fees paid for these three channels would probably be returned to the BBC as extra profit!

A deal was signed between Sky & UKTV in October 2013, so I think you're right about either Sky (or NDS encryption) contracts needing to be fulfilled before these channels could go FTA.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I hear that Court TV is going to launch on channel 177 in the near future

I would advise anyone with children or who is of a nervous disposition to take care when viewing this channel, even during the day. They often show close ups of things like the corpses of murder victims etc. I'm surprised that a complaint hasn't been made to Ofcom.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I'm sure you could be the man for the job ;).

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I can't complain as i've never seen the channel or it's content.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I assumed you had due to the wording. Sorry I misunderstood.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Nope, i've never seen it and from the sounds of things, I wouldn't want to.

It launched today on Freesat on 177.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Looks like GOLD could well be coming to Freesat. UKTV usually put their channels onto Freeview before making them FTA and it now has a licence to broadcast on Freeview.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

Admin mistake apparently. See my post on Freeview thread https://www.cableforum.uk/board/show...&postcount=107

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

​Sporty Stuff (appears to be owned by Information TV) is now testing with Freesat data.

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

I wonder what sort of "Sporty Stuff" they're thinking of. :naughty:

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

:D:D:D

It launched today, so we'll soon see!

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

It had a schedule yesterday when I looked on the Freesat website. I'll copy'n'paste what I wrote on the Changelog thread compiled from the shows listed on it.

"Sporty Stuff TV has appeared on Ch 250.
This is showing eSports, Sailing, Gokarting, Triathlon, Mountain Biking and Rallying looking quickly through today's schedule. No live sport, just prepackaged highlights by the looks of things."

---------- Post added at 16:31 ---------- Previous post was at 16:28 ----------

Oddly it's not on Sky. Maybe they couldn't get a EPG place for some reason?

Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
 

That is strange. Though there have been Freesat exclusive channels before, I suspect it will turn up on Sky within the next few days.