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18 new channels on Freesat starting Thursday
Freesat announces another 18 channels to start on the free-to-watch high-definition platform in the next few weeks.
From Thursday 24 July
The first set of channels, launching Thursday 24 July, features a range of entertainment, news, shopping and gaming channels including:- Zone Horror (136)
- Zone Reality (138)
- Russia Today (206)
- The Fight Network (251)
- Inspiration (960)
- PitchWorld (804)
- Gems TV (805)
- Shop on TV (807)
- Netplay TV (851)
- Gala TV (861)
From Friday 1 August
The second set, to launch Friday 1 August, consists of popular radio stations, including:- Capital Radio (719)
- Choice FM (720)
- Classic fm (721)
- XFM (723)
- Gold (722)
- NME Radio (newly launched, 727)
- Insight Radio (777)
- BFBS Radio (786)
Emma Scott of Freesat's MD said of the new channels "Following last weeks launch of BBC and ITV regional variants, these new TV and radio channels further enhance Freesats offering and provide extra choice to viewers and listeners. This is great news for Freesat customers and something we will continue to do this year and beyond."
Your comments are always welcome. Please use the form below to add your thoughts or questions to this page. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
nice to know. the additionof the two zone channels is great for entertainment, and The Fight Network will appeal to sports watchers. But how do 3 more shopping channels, 2 more gambling channels and what looks like a right wing christian channel "enhance Freesat's offering"?
I rather think they detract from it.
I rather think they detract from it.
Posted by chris hands (1 post) on Tuesday 22 July 2008 5:46PM 
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More cr*p.
Freesat is really failing to deliver.
The UK needs a public service that is competitive with Sky, not one that delivers more of the same mediocre rubbish.
As a licence payer I want to see the BBC spending money on making Freesat competitive with Sky and mirroring their best channels thus producing a quality service. I also, want a full HD service across the board 24/7.
What I don't want is more marginal interest cr*p / shopping channels.
Freesat is really failing to deliver.
The UK needs a public service that is competitive with Sky, not one that delivers more of the same mediocre rubbish.
As a licence payer I want to see the BBC spending money on making Freesat competitive with Sky and mirroring their best channels thus producing a quality service. I also, want a full HD service across the board 24/7.
What I don't want is more marginal interest cr*p / shopping channels.
Posted by Al (10 posts) on Tuesday 22 July 2008 6:52PM 
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chris hands: The channels will start coming thick and fast now. I understand from Freesat that the channel numbers have been allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The channel roll out is being done on week-by-week, there will be plenty more soon. There are more channels on Freesat than Freeview already, and there will be many more, but yeah, I have to say that shopping and god channels don't really "enhance Freesat’s offering" too much, but the Freesat rules have to allow all channels (other than those with sexual content) to be on the platform.
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Al: There will be more HD channels soon, but Sky's contract with other broadcasters prevents them from broadcasting any channel free-to-air if ANY of the broadcasters channels are part of a Sky subscription package. For now, anyway.
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will discovery and history be on freesat
Posted by janet atkinson (4 posts) on Friday 25 July 2008 12:46PM
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janet atkinson: No, these channels are subscription channels. It is unlikely that they will go free-to-air.
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Will BBCNEWS24 and SKYNEWS be available on FreeSat
Posted by P Williams (2 posts) on Saturday 26 July 2008 10:20AM
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P Williams: The BBC News channel is on Freesat channel 200 already. You can manually add Sky News to Freesat boxes, but there are no signs of the channel being in the "proper" Freesat EPG just yet.
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Thanks Briantist.
I have a HD ready tv with built in Free View. I intend to get FreeSat. When free sat is installed will I still be able to watch channels on the origional Free View that might not be included on Free Sat.
Cheers
I have a HD ready tv with built in Free View. I intend to get FreeSat. When free sat is installed will I still be able to watch channels on the origional Free View that might not be included on Free Sat.
Cheers
Posted by P.Williams (2 posts) on Saturday 26 July 2008 10:46AM
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P.Williams: As long as you can actually receive Freeview, yes.
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Hi
I was trying to tune my satellite receiver to receive Channel 4 recently and can get nothing other than a message saying "No Access No Card"
The date that I have for tuning is:-
Frequency 10714 H
program ID 9212
Video ID 2323
I have been able to tune the 4 ITV channels using similar data but different frequencies which I obtained from www.lyngsat.com
Can you suggest why the data doesn't work, please?
I was trying to tune my satellite receiver to receive Channel 4 recently and can get nothing other than a message saying "No Access No Card"
The date that I have for tuning is:-
Frequency 10714 H
program ID 9212
Video ID 2323
I have been able to tune the 4 ITV channels using similar data but different frequencies which I obtained from www.lyngsat.com
Can you suggest why the data doesn't work, please?
Posted by Chris (3 posts) on Sunday 27 July 2008 7:38PM 
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AL,
you say you want the beeb to give you programmes like sky give you. Lets look at the facts, most of the stuff shown on uk drama or uk gold are programmes from the bbc or itv vaults, in fact you would be hard pressed to find anything sky have given you themselves.. sky 1, 2 and 3 apart.. living tv maybe .. but as time goes on I wonder how many will revert to free sat instead of paying sky to show it
you say you want the beeb to give you programmes like sky give you. Lets look at the facts, most of the stuff shown on uk drama or uk gold are programmes from the bbc or itv vaults, in fact you would be hard pressed to find anything sky have given you themselves.. sky 1, 2 and 3 apart.. living tv maybe .. but as time goes on I wonder how many will revert to free sat instead of paying sky to show it
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Chris: Channel 4 is free-to-air on 10714 H and 10729 V. I would recommend using the 'auto search' facility on your receiver, rather than entering PID/VPID/APID codes yourself.
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steve, bedworth: Sky do not, of course, provuide UKTV Gold, these are provided by a Virgin Media/BBC venture. Sky only own the Sky Sports channels (1-3, 1-3HD, Xtra), Sky Movies Channels (10+2HD), Sky Box Office, Sky Arts (and HD), Sky News, Sky One, Sky Two, Sky Three, Sky Real Lives, Sky Vegas and Sky Poker. Sky has interests also in 40% of Nickelodeon UK, 50% of The History Channel (UK) , 25% of Paramount Comedy 1 & 2 (UK), 33% of MUTV, 35% of Chelsea TV, 50% of National Geographic Channel (UK), 47.5% of Attheraces Holdings Limited.
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Cannot get those new radio stations yet Message posted 11.a.m. on 1/8/08.
Posted by Mike (1 post) on Friday 1 August 2008 11:00AM 
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Mike: I know.
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And now they are there!
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The first thing Freesat need to do is sort out subtitles on HD broadcasts.
For us hard of hearing/deaf it's a real problem.
Next channel 5 Then the History one (12 On Freeview)
How do you manually tune Sky News into Freesat please?
Malcolm. (map)
For us hard of hearing/deaf it's a real problem.
Next channel 5 Then the History one (12 On Freeview)
How do you manually tune Sky News into Freesat please?
Malcolm. (map)
Posted by Malcolm (11 posts) on Friday 1 August 2008 8:51PM
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Malcolm: I'm not sure why the BBC don't have subtitles on HD. What type of Freesat box do you have?
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How do I manually tune Sky News into my Humax Foxswat-hd please? (map)
Posted by Vee (6 posts) on Saturday 2 August 2008 6:18PM
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I have now discovered how to get Sky News.
Freesat can be in one of two modes.
First, Freesat mode which appears to be the normal working mode, and
Second, Non-Freesat mode. This mode contains many stations which include Sky News.
Now my question is this - What is the difference between these two modes and are there any limitations to either? Why are there two modes and what purpose do they serve?
Can anyone assist please? (map)
Freesat can be in one of two modes.
First, Freesat mode which appears to be the normal working mode, and
Second, Non-Freesat mode. This mode contains many stations which include Sky News.
Now my question is this - What is the difference between these two modes and are there any limitations to either? Why are there two modes and what purpose do they serve?
Can anyone assist please? (map)
Posted by Vee (6 posts) on Monday 4 August 2008 5:41PM
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Vee: Please see How to get Sky News on a Freesat box | ukfree.tv - independent digital television and switchover advice, since 2002
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Vee: There is no full EPG in non-Freesat mode and the channel numbers are assigned randomly.
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Briantist:
Thanks for that. I followed your instructions closely. After changing the transponder number to the one you indicated 12207V 27500A then scrolling down to the Search button and pressing OK and Save I get the following message - CHANNEL SCRAMBLED OR NOT AVAILABLE The only way I can watch Sky News is by remaining in the Non-Freesat Mode. This is cumbersome. Is there any other way of getting Sky News into Freesat mode? Thank you. (map)
Thanks for that. I followed your instructions closely. After changing the transponder number to the one you indicated 12207V 27500A then scrolling down to the Search button and pressing OK and Save I get the following message - CHANNEL SCRAMBLED OR NOT AVAILABLE The only way I can watch Sky News is by remaining in the Non-Freesat Mode. This is cumbersome. Is there any other way of getting Sky News into Freesat mode? Thank you. (map)
Posted by Vee (6 posts) on Tuesday 5 August 2008 3:32PM
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Vee: Unless Sky decide to be in the Freesat EPG their channels will not appear in "Freesat mode".
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Briantist: This is mad! Sky News are frustrating potential viwers on the 'Freesat Mode' but allowing access on the 'Non-Freesat mode'. So. if I opt to view Sky News I must do so without EPG. I think Freesat and Sky News need to get their head together on this problem. (map)
Posted by Vee (6 posts) on Tuesday 5 August 2008 10:47PM
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Vee: Nothing is stopping Sky putting any of their channels on Freesat, other than Sky.
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Hello,want to go on freesat, any recommendations on which box to choose ?thanks Mike (map)
Posted by Mike (1 post) on Wednesday 13 August 2008 1:57PM
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Mike: I have used the Humax Foxsat box, but some people have had problems with the HD channel output using HDMI. Other people have spoken well of the Bush device. Personally I like the Panasonic TVs with Freesat built in too...
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WRN (Europe) can now be found on 'Freesat' channel 728 ...
(map)
(map)
Posted by Ray Woodward (1 post) on Friday 22 August 2008 5:31PM
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Im thinking of changing over to Freesat from Freeveiw, if I do will I still be able to record on my Sony recorder which has a single hard drive recorder and DVD record facility or will I have to wait for the Humax PVR which has no DVD recording facility. The TV also has Freeveiw tunner will I be able to switch from Freesat to Freeveiw still giving me two tunners. (map)
Posted by J.H. Bowditch (2 posts) on Saturday 23 August 2008 3:12PM
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J.H. Bowditch: You can record from the analogue outputs of the Freesat boxes, so if your DVD recorder can record from analogue then yes. There is no need to disconnect your Freeview when using Freesat, as there are channels exclusive to each platform.
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Hello eveyone, please help a confused person here. Im about to buy a HD ready TV (Panasonic 50") and have looked into freesat to get the best viewing poss. Various people I have talked to have given various opinions on freesat. Is it worth getting now? Whats the best equipment to get (looked at Humax Foxsat!)? Is it worth waiting awhile for prices to drop? Trawling through the comments it seems awfully technical and varying problems encountered, is it simpler to wait, stick with freeview for awhile and await (what is a new service) for the bugs to be sorted and infighting clarified?
(map)
(map)
Posted by dave (1 post) on Saturday 13 September 2008 9:31AM
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dave: Have you considered the Panasonic sets with Freesat built in? Prices will always drop with any high-tech equipment, but if you want HD today without paying a subscription, Freesat HD is the way! For most people it is not in the slightest bit technical, it takes five minutes to set up and very simple to use.
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Channel four has disappeared from my Freesat box. All it says is new service
please wait.
How long do I have to wait.
Walter Holmes.
please wait.
How long do I have to wait.
Walter Holmes.
Posted by Walter Holmes (2 posts) on Monday 29 September 2008 9:31PM
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Walter Holmes: What can my do when my Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fault'? | ukfree.tv - independent digital television and switchover advice, since 2002 will fix it!
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how about the bbc world tv station be put on freesat aswell (map)
Posted by joseph (13 posts) on Monday 3 August 2009 2:01AM
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joseph: The BBC World News channels is funded by adverts and cannot be shown in the UK where BBC services are paid for using the TVL.
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how much is the scrambled channels on free sat
Posted by tracy ellis (1 post) on Friday 9 April 2010 12:37PM
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tracy ellis: Freesat has no scrambled channels.
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Completely off topic...but here goes.
Is that Antenna 3 at Goonhilly on the thumbnail there? Curious choice as it's doing absolutely nothing in that picture...
Is that Antenna 3 at Goonhilly on the thumbnail there? Curious choice as it's doing absolutely nothing in that picture...
Posted by Adam (4 posts) on Saturday 17 April 2010 8:07PM
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Adam: Yes, I took it back in the 1980s when it was being visited by Peter Duncan, as I happened to be there at the time.
Of course, as I am sure you know, these antenna were originally created for low-orbit satellites and had to move a lot to track satellites as they moved over sky, but with age of geostationary satellites they do not usually move any amount you can usually see.
I think the dish was out of service at the time and the "fully upright" position is the one that causes the least stress to the machinery.
I just liked my old photo and used it here. I've got a lot of use out of those photos, such as this pre-login screen:
Of course, as I am sure you know, these antenna were originally created for low-orbit satellites and had to move a lot to track satellites as they moved over sky, but with age of geostationary satellites they do not usually move any amount you can usually see.
I think the dish was out of service at the time and the "fully upright" position is the one that causes the least stress to the machinery.
I just liked my old photo and used it here. I've got a lot of use out of those photos, such as this pre-login screen:
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