NOW 90s off-air on Freeview
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2019 4:56 pm
Music channel NOW 90s was removed on Freeview around midday on Tuesday at the end of a six month carriage period
Fans of the music channel can still tune in via Virgin Media and Sky, and sister channel NOW 80s continues on Freeview as before.
The suspension of programmes comes six months after NOW 90s commenced a carriage contract with Freeview multiplex operator Arqiva, enabling the channel's signal to reach around 3/4 of UK households via Freeview channel 84.
The channel first launched on Freeview at the end of December 2017* thanks to a carriage deal with the Manchester TV Network, with limited coverage to Mancunian households before securing capacity with Arqiva, making the move to new capacity on 26th February 2019.
The channel is seeking to resume Freeview carriage and it is advising viewers via its Freeview programme listings entries to "keep tuning back" for updates.
NOW 90s is a musical offshoot of the 'Now That's What I Call Music' compilation album business. The music channels were originally set up in partnership with AATW Ltd. Penny Street TV Ltd is the current Ofcom broadcast licence holder.
The channel operator hasn't provided any further information surrounding its availability on Freeview beyond the message already available to viewers on channel 84.
Under rules set by Digital UK, the company responsible for managing the technical platform behind Freeview, a channel may suspend programming for up to 12 weeks in a rolling 12 month period without losing its slot on the Freeview channel list.