FREESAT TELEVISION IN COSTA BLANCA SPAIN

Many people have ask me about Freesat and Freesat channel availability in Spain, and the Costa Blanca. So hopefully this page will answer this availability question.

Yes Freesat is available in Spain. To an extent. Many of the main UK TV channels available on Freesat are available in Spain, but, as you would with a Sky receiver, you may still need a big satellite dish to receive the weaker Freesat channels in Spain.

You DO NOT need a Sky viewing card (active or not!) to view the free UK TV channels like BBC or ITV.

What is Freesat TV?
Freesat TV is a digital satellite television service which launched on 6th May 2008, and is available to almost all households across the UK. It is designed for those areas of the UK that are unable to receive the UK terrestrial digital service, Freeview, so that these areas have access to the main digital channels when the old analogue signal is turned off in the next few years. For a one-off payment for a digital box, satellite dish and installation, Freesat currently offers you around 135 TV/Radio channels, including BBC, ITV, C4 and many more. If your TV is ‘HD Ready’, Freesat will also give you access to the world of ‘free’ High Definition programmes, presently BBC HD and ITV HD.

What channels are on Freesat?
All the main UK television channels are available on Freesat.

Note: Reception of these channels may not be available all day in Spain! See below.

How many Freesat television satellite channels can I get?
Because Freesat is delivered via satellite (i.e. same satellite setup as Sky TV), there’s a huge range of TV, radio and interactive services to choose from with around 140 channels presently available.
You won’t be overwhelmed by all these channels - they’ve been organised into easy to use categories within the Freesat electronic programme guide (EPG), so you’ll easily find what you want at the press of a button.

Are there any ongoing costs?
No! Freesat is just that, a free service. Once you’ve purchased the equipment, its all free, forever. No subscription is required for Freesat.

In fact no monthly subscription or viewing card is required for many channels including BBC and ITV and C4.

Is Freesat Television available on the Costa Blanca Spain? Freesat reception in Spain

The big question. Technically Freesat is only an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), and receives its data from the Eurobird satellite. Therefore the Freesat EPG should be available to people with an 80cm dish and be able to be received in Spain.

HOWEVER

Freesat satellite reception and coverage varies greatly over Spain and the Costa Blanca. Many channels provided by the Freesat system will be available, however many will have restricted viewing times.

To receive the main channels provided via the Freesat EPG on the Costa Blanca you will require a big dish. This is because Freesat uses the same satellites (Astra 2 and Eurobird) and (similar) frequencies as the Sky satellite systems. This table indicates the minimum dish sizes required for the main UK channels on Freesat for the Costa Blanca North area that I cover.

Note: There are two versions of FIVE. The Freesat version will only be available for the same time as BBC2, as they currently share the same frequency. The Sky version of FIVE, that requires a Sky viewing card, will be available 24/7.

In general, with a 1.8m or 2.4m dish, you should receive BBC1, ITV1. ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 for 24 hours a day. You may find that even on a 2.4m dish you may loose bbc1 and the ITV channels late at night, when the signal is weakest. BBC2 and Channel 4 should be available until around 6pm. The Freesat version of FIVE will also be available for the same times as BBC2.

The Sky version of FIVE should be available all of the day on most dishes over 80cm. The majority of the Sky subscription package is available 24 hours a day.

Don't forget the the weather can affect the reception of channels - heavy cloud or rain can weaken the already weak signals - it is not always sunny in Spain. Summer haze around the coast can also weaken the signals.

There are also two times a year when, due to the positioning of the Sun, the earth and the satellites, you may loose the weaker Astra 2d signals for a few minutes. Normally this occurs at around 10 - 11am around the time of the spring and autumn solaces, when the solar energy from the sum "swamps" the signals from the satellites more than usual as the sun is positioned directly behind the satellite.

And don't forget that during the summer months you should be getting the TV for 1 hour longer, due to the changing between CET and CEST (Central European Time and Central European Summer Time). So for example, if BBC2 goes off at 5pm in the winter, then in the summer it should go off at 6pm.

Freesat Misconception

When Freesat was being launched, one misconception people had was that as the Freesat EPG would be available across Europe on Eurobird and therefore the channels on Freesat would also be available across Europe on Eurobird.

I had a lot of calls during the early part of 2009 from people (and some "installers" (Hi Karl!)) saying that "Freesat will use Eurobird 1 which has a very broad "footprint" and therefore BBC and ITV would be accessible in Spain with a small dish unlike the Sky version of BBC and ITV which would remain on Astra 2d and require a big dish".

This misconception was also not helped by some satellite installers also not knowing what Freesat was and advertising that the main Freesat channels would be available on a small dish.

You can apply the same principle to Sky's EPG to that of Freesat. On both systems the EPG may be available on a small dish, but the channels both EPGs point to may only be able to be received on a big dish. You can see from the information that I posted on my News page back in February 2008 that I knew what I was talking about!!

Freesat and Freeview Channels.

Due to contractual issues, a number of channels which are available on Freeview will not be available on Freesat. Virgin 1, TMF, The Hits, UKTV History, Dave, Sky Three and Sky Sports News are all available on Freeview but encrypted on digital satellite.

Five US and Fiver are currently only available via Sky receivers with a FTV card. Five have officially stated that Five US and Fiver will remain exclusively on the Sky service for the time being.

There has been no confirmation by Freesat or other channel owners that the UKTV channels (such as UK Gold, Dave), Virgin channels (such as V1, Challenge or Bravo), Sky One or Setanta Sport channels will made available for free on satellite, despite what other satellite installers may be saying.

Freesat HD

BBC HD is available for free on Sky HD and Freesat HD receivers

ITV HD is available for free on Sky HD (new EPG only) and Freesat HD receivers not a HD 24/7 service and is only on selected programmes – and ITV have a nasty habit of not publicizing what programmes will be shown in HD!!

Note: Channel 4 HD is only available on Sky HD receivers.

For more information see out Freesat Receiver and Freesat HD pages.

Freesat Receivers

There are three types of Freesat receivers. The basic model, the HD model, and the HD+ model.

Note that to watch HD programmes you will require a HD TV, ideally with a HDMI HD connector input for connection to a HD receiver.

You can use a HD receiver with a standard TV, using the scart connections, but you will not be able to view the HD channels in HD!

Freest receivers do not have the ability to receiver any form of encrypted broadcast, such as Sky subscription channels, or Setanta. If you want to use a Sky card (even for Five (until late 2008), Five US, and Fiver) you will require a Sky receiver.

Some Freesat receivers do not have a functioning loopthrough, so you cannot connect both Freesat and Sky receiver to the same cable / LNB.

Some installers are using generic receivers and calling them Freesat receivers. An official Freesat receiver will have the official Freesat logo on the receiver, will not have a slot for a viewing card, and will have a full 7 day programme guide – generic receivers will only have now and next programme information.

For more information see out Freesat Receiver and Freesat HD pages.

It is totally legal to view free to air, unencrypted, satellite TV channels directly from the satellite. The only restriction on their viewing is the dish size required to receive the signal. The broadcasters may not like you receiving their channels outside the UK, but there is little they can do to stop this satellite signal "overspill".