84% of homes now have digital television

84% of UK households now have digital television, according to the latest research from Ofcom. Freeview sales led the growth, accounting for 81% – 763,000 sets – of the net growth between April and June.

Virgin 1 to launch on October 1

Virgin 1 will launch on October 1, it has been announced. The channel, Virgin Media’s attempt to create a flagship channel to rival Sky One, will be available on all digital platforms – 24 hours a day on most, but only available between 18:00 and 06:00 on Freeview (replacing FTN).

Bulletin: ABC and BBC

The following snippets of information have come to light in the last 24 hours: ABC1 have confirmed on their website that the channel will not broadcast on any platform “after September”. There had been some confusion surrounding the closing date and whether the channel would continue on satellite or cable. Elsewhere, it has been revealed that BBC Radio stations 1 to 4 will move to multiplex B when they vacate mux A on October 3.

Nuts TV launches on Freeview

Nuts TV has launched on Freeview channel 42. The channel, a spin-off of lads’ magazine Nuts, will broadcast from 21:00 to 01:00 every night, with live content during the week and recorded highlights at the weekend. Currently exclusive to Freeview, the channel hopes to launch on other platforms shortly.

Heat and Smash Hits! Radio swap multiplexes

Emap radio stations Smash Hits! (Freeview channel 712) and Heat (channel 714) have swapped multiplexes this afternoon. The switch means that Heat is now available nationwide (on mux D), ahead of a massive station re-vamp which will see the station carry talk programming for the first time. Music-only station Smash Hits! Is now carried on mux A, and is no longer available in Wales.

BBC Radio stations to move multiplexes

BBC Radio stations 1 to 4 will move from their current home on multiplex A to one of the BBC multiplexes on October 3. According to a message on the BBC Radio screens, which have been updated today with the stations’ new logos, viewers will need to re-scan their Freeview receivers in order to continue to receive the channels. The move is in preparation for digital switchover, which begins on October 17.

ABC1 scrapped

As deeteetee vaguely hinted at last week, Disney have confirmed they will no longer broadcast ABC1 from next month. The inability to extend the channel’s on-air hours on DTT – restricted to 06:00 to 18:00, and not available at all to Welsh Freeview viewers – and the company’s focus on promoting the “Disney” brand were the key factors in the decision to close the channel. No decision on what will replace the channel on Freeview has been made.

Changes on the way for Emap radio stations

According to on-screen messages being carried on the Kerrang! and Heat radio channels, a re-scan will be required on September 12 as Emap radio stations “are changing”. It’s possible that the changes will include the replacement of Heat with a “celebrity” service – as has been approved on various DAB multiplexes – and a permanent replacement for 3C, whose slot is currently broadcasting Glasgow’s Clyde 1.

S4C launch text service on Freeview

As previously reported on deeteetee, Welsh broadcaster S4C has launched its text service on Freeview. Previously only available on satellite, the bilingual service is now available via the text or red button.

Bulletin: Rumours, Nuts and um, Bongo

Rumours circulating on the web suggest that a minor but significant television channel will cease broadcasting on October 1. Contenders include The Hits (although this is very unlikely) and ABC1 (who will have been broadcasting for 3 years by then, and could possibly have exhausted their contract). Or, of course, it could be a load of tosh. In other news, Nuts TV is now broadcasting a holding slide in preparation for its launch on September 12, and Television X has been renamed TVX/Red Hot, as the channel will broadcast content from various Red Hot channels on different days of the week from now on.

Nuts TV placeholder appears

A placeholder for forthcoming Freeview channel Nuts TV has appeared on channel 42. Currently only broadcasting a testcard, the magazine spin-off channel will launch on September 12 at 21:00. Meanwhile, Thomas Cook TV, whose contract to broadcast expired at the end of August, has now been removed from the EPG (channel 41). Nuts TV will broadcast in some of the capacity freed up by it’s removal.

Thomas Cook TV ceases broadcasting

Thomas Cook TV has ceased broadcasting on Freeview. The channel, which launched on channel 41 in April, had been leasing capacity from Turner (the evening slot previously occupied by TCM).

ITV considering selling capacity to Virgin Media

ITV are reportedly considering selling some of their Freeview broadcast capacity to Virgin Media, according to Broadcast. It’s thought that plans to launch a movies channel in the space currently occupied by ITV2+1 (and previously the now-defunct ITV Play) have been shelved. Any sale to Virgin would allow them to launch Virgin 1 on Freeview in a 24-hour slot, rather than the current plan to replace FTN (which would only allow broadcasts between 18:00 and 06:00).

HD should use existing capacity – Ofcom

Ofcom have given the clearest indication yet that no extra capacity will be freed-up post-switchover for High Definition television to be broadcast via DTT. In a letter to The Guardian, Philip Rutnam said “Ofcom believes that it is in the best interests of viewers and the broadcasters to [deliver HD] using the broadcasters' existing spectrum”.

Channel 4+1 launches on Freeview

Channel 4+1 has launched on Freeview, replacing Film4+1. The service, the first timeshifted version of the “big-five” channels, will appear on channel 13 after a re-scan. This will force a reorganisation of some other channels: More4 moves to 14, E4 moves to 29, E4+1 remains on channel 30, and Film4 moves to 32. Viewers who do not re-scan can keep the previous (more sensible) channel order and watch Channel 4+1 on 32.

Teachers’ TV broadcasting hours slashed

Teachers’ TV will see its broadcasting hours slashed on Freeview from September 10, when the channel will only be available from 16:00 to 17:00 each day. At launch, the channel was available for six hours overnight; this was reduced to the current two when the Top Up TV Anytime service launched. It now appears another set of changes is imminent – Top Up TV are rumoured to be adding two new channels to the service in September – and Teachers' TV will be losing out.

Top Up TV strengthens board

Jim Hytner has joined Top Up TV as commercial director. Hynter, who has previously worked with company founders David Chance and Nick Markham at Sky and ITV, has also worked for Five and ITV Digital. On the appointment, Chance said “This is an extremely exciting time for our business. We have ambitious plans for the months and years ahead and today's announcement underlines this”.

Article: Chaos Theory

You can read The Guardian’s Oliver Burkeman’s article on the scare-mongering surrounding the digital switchover process here.

50% of households 100% digital

Half of all UK households have access to digital television on every television set, according to Ofcom and Digital UK. The survey also revealed that 87% of people are now aware of the switchover, the highest figure since the quarterly review began.

Currys to sell Setanta set-top boxes

Setanta Sports-ready set-top boxes and subscription cards will be available to buy from Currys from later this month. The electrical chain has ordered 200,000 boxes to sell, and join Tesco and Comet in their support for Setanta’s subscription service. The latest figures suggest that Setanta has around 2.5 million customers in the UK and Ireland, 1.1 million of whom subscribe to the £9.99 service (the rest receive the channels free with their Virgin Media cable package).

UKTV consider launching G2 on Freeview

UKTV are reportedly considering replacing lifestyle channel UKTV Bright Ideas with a revamped version of entertainment channel UKTV G2. Bright Ideas is tailor-made for Freeview, promoting the family of UKTV lifestyle channels available on other platforms. Virgin Media’s equivalent entertainment channel, FTN, is also to be replaced, later this year. Both channels currently timeshare broadcast capacity on Freeview.

First Freeview multiplex on-air in Whitehaven

The first digital multiplex to be broadcast in Whitehaven, the first region of the UK to undergo digital switchover, has commenced transmissions. A temporary version of multiplex A carrying only one channel – Five – will be broadcast to the town until the rest of the Border region completes the switchover process in 2009: at this stage, Five will be carried on one of the new PSB (public service broadcaster) multiplexes along with the BBC’s services. According to one Freeview-equipped Whitehaven News reader, “the picture quality is brilliant” – not surprising, considering it’s being broadcast at 24,000 kbps!

Ridiculous EPG shuffle planned for C4 channels

If someone in the street had told me this story, I’d have laughed them out of town. Sadly, it’s been confirmed that Channel 4’s entire family of digital channels will move to new channel numbers when Channel 4+1 launches on August 20… on channel 13. This means More4 has to move to 14. That means that E4 moves from a prime EPG position to channel 29! E4+1 stays on 30, Film4 moves to 32, and Film4+1 disappears altogether. Which only adds insult to injury, really.

Channel 4+1 to replace Film4+1 - confirmed

Channel 4 have confirmed on their website’s forum that Channel 4+1 will replace Film4+1 on Freeview when it launches on August 20. The timeshifted version of Film4 will continue to broadcast on other platforms.