One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
PBS America is going FTA and joining Freesat imminently.
Talking Pictures had a meeting yesterday with Freesat with a view to joining the platform before Christmas. |
Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
TBH all I really want from Freesat now is for ITV, who are supposed to part-own the thing, to put their HD channels on it. Honestly, in 2015, putting your HD variant behind Sky's paywall as if it's some next-big-thing innovation is just ridiculous.
And while we're at it, let's have FilmFour HD as well ... |
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It's a disgrace that Channel 5 HD is behind a paywall, especially as a PSB.
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Wasn't the Channel 5 decision made before Viacom bought it? Maybe they might think differently now.
Meanwhile on Freeview they seem to be having problems finding HD channels that want to take space on the new COM 8 multiplex. There's something not quite right with the economics of TV at the moment. |
Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
Well, CH5 had a slot reserved for them on the PSB3 Freeview mux & turned it down. Don't know if the possible move of BBC3 to online only will open that door to them again. If not COM8 & Freesat will be the only ones available.
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Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
UKTV channels Yesterday, Drama and Really have now launched on Freesat.
Netflix is being added right now! Talking Pictures is joining and hope to have the legalities sorted by the end of January 2016. It is widely believed that Dave (SD) Channel 5 HD and Yesterday +1 will arrive shortly. There have also been rumours that Quest and Possibly some HD variants of the PSB spin off channels may join too. |
Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
UKTV's absence from Freesat has been a real puzzle. They have a stated aim to be universally available across the whole UK, however there are terrestrial relay transmitters the length and breadth of the country that don't, and will never, carry them. Yet it has taken them until the end of 2015, more than 8 years since Freesat was originally announced, to get their channels onto the platform that exists precisely because DTT is unable to provide universal coverage of all the channels that might want it.
I only hope Sky's shilling was worth it to them, for them to locked behind satellite encryption for so long. |
Re: One or two new channels coming to Freesat.
From what I can gather, the more modern satellites have been a major contributor to this change.
The older satellites covered a large area, but the new ones can have spot beams to only serve a certain area eg the UK. If they hadn't of scrambled their signals prior to now, UKTV would have had to pay for pan European rights for their programmes. I suppose they could have gone FTV as opposed to subscription, but they would have had to pay for encryption as opposed to getting a cut of the Sky subs. |
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Maybe so, but the spot beam capability of Astra 2F has been available commercially for 3 years now ...
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It's odd that Dave (SD) hasn't been added to Freesat yet, perhaps there's some problem with Sky. I imagine that it will join at some point, with the HD variant remaining behind a paywall. |
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Yes, I think what has ultimately driven this has been an exclusivity deal with Sky, hence my earlier comment about UKTV taking their shilling.
The channels they have moved on to Freesat this week are a good start, and hopefully an indication that they actually are serious about the claim they started making some years ago now about them "taking over the world". We may yet get Dave on Freesat. Now, if some of the broadcasters would only stop pretending that HD is somehow premium content, and get some of that out from behind Sky's paywall, things would really start to look bright and cheerful in the world of FTA satellite. |
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If you are on VM too, you can now access the UKTV HD channels over Christmas at no extra charge providing you are on M+ and above. |
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