Freeview channel reshuffle: retune time for all viewers

Freeview channel reshuffle: retune time for all viewers

Postby dutchman » Wed Jan 12, 2022 11:01 pm

Freeview will undergo its biggest channel reshuffle since 2020 at the end of January when dozens of channels will move to new positions in the channel list

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Around lunchtime on Wednesday 26th January 2022, many of Freeview’s entertainment, lifestyle, factual and teleshopping channels will move to new channel numbers. Many will simply move down one number on the channel list.

The Freeview channel reshuffle accommodates the return of BBC Three, which starts broadcasting on Tuesday 1st February. Ofcom has ordered platform operators to assign the service a top 24 slot on the channel list within 18 months of BBC Three returning.

Freeview is acting immediately, and clearing channel 23 to facilitate this change.

Which channels are changing?

A full list of the affected channels will be released shortly.

Services between channel 23 and channel 82 will move down one number. For example, this will mean DMAX moving from channel 38 to 39. Shopping channel Gemporia (Gems TV) will move from channel 44 to 45.

Is support/help available?

Freeview will ramp up help and support around the time of the channel reshuffle. Its website already includes a number of retuning videos for each type of TV, showing how to complete an automatic retune.

Some newer smart TVs and receivers are able to adjust automatically to the new channel numbers. A retune will ensure that all available Freeview channels, including BBC Three, appear in the channel list.

What if I don’t retune?

You may not be able to receive all available Freeview channels. But your existing channels will remain in the same place, if your TV doesn’t automatically adjust channel numbers. You may find that some TVs will add new services in the 800 channel range instead.

The last major channel reshuffle took place in November 2020. At the time, many services were also moved down one channel number. That change facilitated another Ofcom requirement, allowing BBC Four in Scotland to take channel 24. At the time, services lost their long-standing Freeview channel numbers, with ITV+1 losing channel 33, for example.

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