Sky 3 to showcase pay TV for a weekend

Sky 3 will carry a selection of programming from subscription television channels for an entire weekend in September. Shows from Sky, ESPN, MTV, Disney, Virgin Media Television, Fox, National Geographic, Turner and UKTV (amongst others) will be shown from Friday 18 to Saturday 20 September to give Freeviewers a chance to see some of the programmes that people with more money than sense pay TV regularly enjoy.

Mobilizer appears on Freeview

A new text service from Teletext has appeared on Freeview channel 109. Called Mobilizer, it promises "mobile fun 4 (sic) everyone".

Price Drop TV to return

Great news! Shopping channel Price Drop TV is to return to Freeview on Thursday, 27 August, according to a company press release. The channel, which has now lost its original channel number (24) will relaunch on channel 43.

Virgin 1 to broadcast in 3D (sort of)

Virgin 1 will be showing a special "3D" episode of Chuck at 21:00 on 29 August. To enjoy it fully, you'll need a set of special glasses, which are being given away with a PPG (Paper Programming Guide) called "TV & Satellite Week". Other listings magazines are available.

ITV still considering subscription switch

ITV are considering removing their digital-only channels ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4 from Freeview and Freesat. Speaking at the company's annual results this morning, senior figures from the company said that moving the channels into basic subscription packages on Sky and Virgin Media could be the answer to their financial troubles.

Quest to launch on 30 September

Discovery's new channel Quest will launch on Freeview on 30 September, according to reports. The new station, which aborted its last planned launch at the very last minute, is the first free-to-air Discovery channel in the UK.

ESPN now available via Top Up TV

Digital terrestrial television viewers now have the opportunity to subscribe to ESPN via Top Up TV. Subscription costs £9.99 a month, subject to a £20 connection fee. Top Up TV customers and former Setanta Sports subscribers (who still have a viewing card) can get their first month's subscription free, and pay no connection fee if they sign up before August 31. For more information, call 08444 158158 or visit topuptv.com.

"Remember to Retune" on 30 September

Freeview are to launch a campaign entitled "Remember to Retune" to inform and remind viewers that they will need to rescan for digital services on 30 September 2009, when there will be a shake-up of channels 'behind the scenes'. Although there will be no alterations to the Freeview channel line-up, Five, ITV4 and BBC Radio stations will be switching multiplexes.

Nationwide re-tune planned for Autumn

Every UK household with Freeview (including those who live in areas which have completed the digital switchover) will need to rescan their receivers this Autumn in order to continue receiving Five and a whole host of other services that will move from their current multiplex location to another to make way for future high definition broadcasts. No precise date has yet been confirmed.

HD receivers in the shops "by end of year"

At least two high definition Freeview receivers will become commercially available by the end of the year, according to the Digital Television Group. The specification for HD-DTT boxes was published back in March, with the first broadcasts are set to start on December 2 from Winter Hill. It has also been revealed that iPlayer integration is also being encouraged, and that the launch of a Freeview+iPlayer service is currently under development.

Teletext teletext to close

Teletext will stop broadcasting its news and information service from January next year. The service, which is available via ITV and Channel 4's channels on Freeview (plus Five on analogue, too), is no longer profitable. Whilst the Teletext name will not disappear completely – Teletext Holidays will continue to operate – its departure from our screens will mark the end of an era in British television.

Update: It's also been announced that S4C's text service, Sbectel, will also be closing on digital from September and on analogue at digital Switchover (obviously).

Big Deal appears on Freeview

Big Deal has appeared on Freeview channel 37. Broadcasting on multiplex D, initial reports suggest that the channel will be timesharing with Create & Craft on the newly-launched slot between 22:00 and 05:00.

S4C to move to multiplex 2

Freeview viewers throughout Wales must re-tune their equipment in order to continue to watch S4C from 9 September. The Welsh-language channel will be moving to multiplex 2 on that date, enabling those viewers who only have access to public service broadcasters' channels to watch, whilst also keeping room on multiplex B (its originally-planned home) for planned HD services. The move should also create space on multiplex A for Discovery's new channel, Quest.

Discovery content leaves Top Up TV

Content from Discovery and Discovery Real Time is no longer available on Top Up TV Anytime. Downloads from the broadcaster ceased on June 30, and the channel logos were finally removed from the EPG today. To compensate lovers of factual programmes, content from National Geographic will temporarily be doubled to 12 hours a week.

Create & Craft launches on Freeview

Shopping channel Create & Craft has appeared on Freeview channel 36. Officially launching on Monday 6 June, it is being carried in a brand new slot (the eighth) on multiplex D, and will broadcast between 08:00 and 13:00. The new slot will also be used by The Soviet Propaganda Channel Russia Today to broadcast between 18:00 and 22:00. There is no indication so far as to what other channels or services will make use of the spare capacity.

34. ESPN
35. Virgin 1+1
36. Create & Craft

89.6% of UK homes have digital

Ofcom's quarterly Digital Television Update has revealed that 89.6% of UK households now have access to digital television on at least one set, and 61% have it on second or third sets, too. 3.4 million DTT receivers were sold in the first three months of the year, of which 2.5 million were integrated digital sets. In total, 9.8 million homes now use Freeview as their main source of digital telly.

Create & Craft to join Freeview

Tat-peddling shopping channel Ideal World is to start broadcasting a new live service on Freeview. From July 1, Create & Craft will be available on channel 36, broadcasting five hours of live programming every weekday between 08:00 and 13:00. As yet, its unclear where the capacity for this new channel will come from, and what other channels (if any) will be sharing the slot.

Freeview HD launch date set

The BBC has announced that the first high definition broadcasts on Freeview will begin on December 2. Initially only available from the Winter Hill transmitter (serving Manchester and Liverpool), HD services will then be rolled out across the country as the necessary transmission equipment is upgraded. Viewers will need to purchase brand-new receivers to watch HD-DTT channels, which will be using new, more efficient transmission standards.

ESPN begins broadcasting on DTT

ESPN America has started broadcasting on DTT channel 34, in place of star-crossed sports channel Setanta, which closed all British operations yesterday after being put into administration. The channel is currently only available to view to "current" Setanta and Top Up TV subscribers. According to Top Up TV, you can also start a new "subscription" to the channel, initially free of charge, provided you have the necessary equipment.

Setanta ceases broadcasting

Setanta Sports has been put into administration. Following the appointment of administrators this afternoon, all Setanta-branded channels in Great Britain, including Setanta Sports 1 (channel 34) ceased broadcasting at 18:00 today. Subscribers watching on DTT are advised, via an on-screen message, to visit setantainfo.com, a website operated by Top Up TV; here, they are asked to register their details in order to receive information about any future "replacement sports service".

Some sort of switchover report published

Consumer Focus, who are presumably a consumer rights group or some such, have published a report into the digital switchover programme in the Border region. In general, it went quite well: there were reception issues in the sticks, and a lot of householders who can only receive the public service broadcasters' channels were a little bit peeved at not being able to receive the full Freeview service.

Setanta on the brink

Setanta has lost all its English Premier League football matches to ESPN, and looks set to lose the rights to the Scottish Premier League to Sky, effectively signalling the end of the beleaguered sports broadcaster (and possibly the presence of premium sport content on DTT). Although ESPN have hinted at making their coverage available on as many platforms as possible, there's virtually no chance of Sky doing the same.

Update: ESPN plans to launch a new premium channel to carry its content; a carriage deal has already been struck with Sky, and the broadcaster is in negotiations with Virgin Media and BT Vision. A selection of games will also be broadcast in high definition.

Setanta stripped of Premier League rights

Financially-troubled broadcaster Setanta Sports has been stripped of the rights to broadcast premiership football next season by the Premier League. The channel's owners were unable to make a £30million payment for next season's games today, thus defaulting on their deal. The rights have been put up for sale to other broadcasters with immediate effect. Sky is not allowed to bid for all 46 games, due to competition laws, but could grab half of them. ESPN is widely-tipped to pick up the remainder.

The news comes just hours after the possibility of a merger with Top Up TV was reported. It is as yet unclear if this deal has fallen through or remains on the table.

Spare switchover cash will pay for broadband

Any surplus cash from the Switchover Support Scheme will be used to invest in upgrading the UK's broadband network. Confirmation of the Government's plans was revealed in the Digital Britain report, published this week. They have pledged to provide 2Mbps broadband for every UK household by 2012.