A round-up of the week’s stories and observations.
- MON 13TH FEB (12PM)
Next stage of BBC HD satellite rollout in progress - WED 15TH FEB (10.40AM)
Latest BBC HD changes go live on Sky - WED 15TH FEB (11.45AM)
BBC Scotland reacts to Nicola Sturgeon resignation - WED 15TH FEB (1.20PM)
ITVBe on the move on Freeview - THU 16TH FEB (12PM)
Test transmissions for final round of BBC HD channels - FRI 17TH FEB (10.30AM)
Revised launch date for BBC One South East HD
Monday 13th February
12pm Next stage of BBC HD satellite rollout in progress
BBC One West HD, BBC One South West HD, BBC One Channel Islands HD and BBC RB 1 HD are now broadcasting on satellite ahead of their addition to Freesat and Sky TV guides this week.
The channels are available at: 10788V; SR 23000; FEC 3/4.
The rollout on the Sky platform will be completed by Wednesday, and not Tuesday, as originally planned.
This week’s revised schedule:
| Channel | Freesat Go Live | Sky Go Live |
|---|---|---|
| BBC Red Button 1 HD | 13th February | 15th February |
| BBC One West HD | 13th February | 15th February |
| BBC One South West HD | 13th February | 15th February |
| BBC One Channel Islands HD | 13th February | 15th February |
| BBC One London HD | 14th February | 15th February |
UPDATE (4PM): BBC One West HD, BBC One South West HD, BBC One Channel Islands HD and BBC Red Button 1 HD are now live on Freesat.
The first steps to clear 10773H have also started as the final missing HD regions reach satellite viewers next week.
Courtesy @a516digital.
Wednesday 15th February
10.40am Latest BBC HD changes go live on Sky
BBC One London HD, BBC One South West HD, BBC One West HD, BBC One Channel Islands HD and BBC Red Button 1 HD are now live on the Sky platform.
Courtesy @a516digital.
11.45am BBC Scotland reacts to Nicola Sturgeon resignation
On the expectation that a resignation announcement by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was imminent, the BBC Scotland channel came on air earlier than usual – just before 11am – for a live simulcast of the BBC News channel.
Within minutes, BBC One Scotland had deployed its rarely used IPP graphic, pointing viewers to the BBC News channel.
1.20pm ITVBe on the move on Freeview
ITVBe is moving to the D3&4 multiplex on Freeview, which means the channel will become available at all main transmitter sites and relay stations.
The new copy of ITVBe has just popped up on channel 791, at least in some regions. This will eventually swap places with the old copy of ITVBe on the channel list.
Courtesy @a516digital.
Thursday 16th February
12pm Test transmissions for final round of BBC HD channels
Test transmissions for the final batch of BBC HD channels have now started on satellite.
At 10773H; SR 23000; FEC 3/4:
- 6308 BBC Parliament HD
- 6311 BBC North East and Cumbria HD
- 6331 BBC One North West HD
- 6371 BBC One Yorkshire HD
These channels will go live on Freesat and Sky next week.
BBC Two Northern Ireland (6312) will move off Sky capacity.
The existing BBC One HD feed will be replaced by BBC One South East HD later next week, rounding off the HD rollout on satellite.
Also coming up: 10803H will be cleared of the last remaining BBC One SD regional services.
Courtesy @a516digital.
Friday 17th February
10.30am Revised launch date for BBC One South East HD
The go live date for BBC One South East HD has been brought forward by one day.
Freesat: Tuesday (just after the northern HD regions are switched on Sky).
Sky: Wednesday.
BBC Three HD moves to Sky channel 115 across all of England on Wednesday.
Sky has until the middle of the year to get BBC Three on a top 24 EPG slot to comply with Ofcom rules.
Courtesy @a516digital.
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Acknowledgements
PICTURED: BBC One ident. COPYRIGHT: BBC.