Rachel_Sandford
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Media and communications regulator, Ofcom, just announced that there is a slot for a new HD channel on digital terrestrial TV now available. They are welcoming commercial public service broadcasters to submit their applications for the new channel.
“The closing date for applications is 17 October 2011,” Ofcom announced. “Applications will be judged against a number of key criteria including an assessment of how the new capacity will contribute to enhancing the range and diversity of high quality television services available on DTT.”
The new subscription-free HD channel will be joining 4HD, BBC HD, BBC One HD, and ITV1 HD. According to Ofcom, it should air on Freeview HD by the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] of April 2012. The regulator explained that the reason why they delayed a 5[SUP]th[/SUP] HD channel on Freeview is because “HD is spectrum hungry, demanding four times as much as standard definition.”
However, with the digital switchover well underway, and expected to be completed by 2012, they were able to reorganise some existing services and add the MPEG-4 and DVB-T2 standards to collectively create the capacity needed for the 5[SUP]th[/SUP] channel.
Some are hoping that the 5[SUP]th[/SUP] Freeview HD channel will be awarded to Channel 5, which is currently only available to Virgin subscribers. With a somewhat different platform from the other channels, it would make a nice addition to digital terrestrial TV.
Freeview HD launched in May 2010 and it is already available to more than half of the UK, namely in London, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Birmingham, and Liverpool. Sales of set-top boxes since it first launched have risen to 1.8 million.
“The closing date for applications is 17 October 2011,” Ofcom announced. “Applications will be judged against a number of key criteria including an assessment of how the new capacity will contribute to enhancing the range and diversity of high quality television services available on DTT.”
The new subscription-free HD channel will be joining 4HD, BBC HD, BBC One HD, and ITV1 HD. According to Ofcom, it should air on Freeview HD by the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] of April 2012. The regulator explained that the reason why they delayed a 5[SUP]th[/SUP] HD channel on Freeview is because “HD is spectrum hungry, demanding four times as much as standard definition.”
However, with the digital switchover well underway, and expected to be completed by 2012, they were able to reorganise some existing services and add the MPEG-4 and DVB-T2 standards to collectively create the capacity needed for the 5[SUP]th[/SUP] channel.
Some are hoping that the 5[SUP]th[/SUP] Freeview HD channel will be awarded to Channel 5, which is currently only available to Virgin subscribers. With a somewhat different platform from the other channels, it would make a nice addition to digital terrestrial TV.
Freeview HD launched in May 2010 and it is already available to more than half of the UK, namely in London, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Birmingham, and Liverpool. Sales of set-top boxes since it first launched have risen to 1.8 million.
