Posted 29th March 2007 by Paul
3C has closed down and has been replaced by Clyde-1 on Freeview (it is thought this is temporary until a permanent replacement is found). You will may need to rescan your set top box for it to pick up the new channel name for Clyde-1 – unless your box automatically updates itself. Also, Emap and Channel 4 are going to be launching a new music/youth channel on Freeview – it is unknown at this stage whether it will replace The Hits on Freeview, replace a Channel 4-owned channel, or be a completely new slot (this option seems unlikely). I would imagine the channel would be like the E4 Music strand on E4.
Posted 22nd March 2007 by Paul
Teletext Games has been rebranded with the new purple look – to match in with the other Teletext Interactive services on Freeview. The only service using the old style is Teletext Cars.
Posted 15th March 2007 by Paul
ITV2 +1 has launched on ITV Play’s old channel number, as expected. ITV Play has closed down and has been replaced with the ITV2 timeshift channel. It is thought ITV2 +1 may be replaced with another channel ITV may be launching this year (although unconfirmed) – ITV Sport or ITV Movies?
Rescan your set top box to get the new channel name.
Posted 13th March 2007 by Paul
Following the recent ITV quiz audits, ITV have decided to remove ITV Play from Freeview and on Sky (ie. it will be axed on all platforms), and replace it on Freeview with ITV2 +1 on the 15th March, and on Sky on the 16th March. Late night ITV Play quiz programmes will still be aired on ITV1 and ITV2 – but the channel itself will be axed. If the rumoured ITV Movies channel ends up launching, I would assume it would take ITV2 +1′s place on Freeview.
Posted 8th March 2007 by Paul
According to unconfirmed reports, Sky may be considering keeping their channels free-to-air on Digital Terrestrial and not transforming their DTT channel space into a subscription service. It was thought that Sky were thinking about changing the channel space they currently use to broadcast Sky Three, Sky News and Sky Sports News on Freeview into a premium service (with potentially different channels – ie. Sky One or Sky Sports). The premium service would have meant customers would need to have a new set top box specifically to decode and watch the premium Sky channels on Digital Terrestrial. Nothing has been confirmed or denied yet, so more news on this as it develops.
Posted 8th March 2007 by Paul
The rebrand of the major Teletext services on Freeview have taken place. Most Teletext services on Freeview now have a different colour (purple) and look slightly different (new logo, etc). Teletext Cars and Teletext Games haven’t been changed – Teletext Cars still has a blue background and the old logo. Teletext, Teletext On ITV, Teletext On 4 and Teletext Holidays all feature the new look purple Interactive services. In other news – the much anticipated Top Up TV Anytime software update is expected to be released via over-the-air download on the 13th March.
Posted 3rd March 2007 by Paul
The new Teletext Extra service – launching on Freeview soon – will be available for use on certain set top boxes from Spring/Summer. Thomson boxes and a new range of Alba/Bush set top boxes will be compatible with the new service following an over-the-air download that will be sent to those boxes (Thomson in the Spring and the new range of Alba/Bush boxes from when they go in the shops). Teletext Extra will “install” as an application on those boxes and will be a 14-day EPG TV listings service. More information on Teletext’s new look and for more information on Teletext Extra can be found at www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?id=2280.
