New Freesat Channels launching 8th December 2015
Further to our previous posts ( https://www.satandpcguy.com/blog/2015/12/new-channels-coming-to-freesat-soon/ and https://www.satandpcguy.com/blog/2015/12/official-freesat-to-get-three-new-uktv-channels/ ) it has been confirmed that Freesat will have three new channels on the 8th December 2015.
A tweet from Really says :
Hoorah! Good news Freesat viewers – @Reallytvchannel will be launching on @Freesat_tv on 8th December on channel 164.
So we should assume that Drama and Yesteday will also launch on the same day on Feesat.
In fact the three channels (Drama, Really and Yesterday) are already available for free, and are now free to air.
In addition, the whole batch of UKTV channels have changed frequencies. They have now changed transponders, moving from 11.817 V, 27.500, 2/3, DVB-S, QPSK to 12.129 V, 27.500, 2/3, DVB-S, QPSK. They have moved from the European beam to the UK beam, so people in the South of Spain and Portugal may now struggle to receive these channels.
The channels affected are :
Home
Eden
Gold UK
Yesterday
Dave UK
Good Food
Watch UK
Alibi UK
Drama
Really
The “+1” version of these channels have not changed to the “uk beam” so should still be available to users in most of Spain, as part of their Sky package.
The “HD” versions of these channels have not changed to the “uk beam” so should still be available to users in most of Spain, as part of their Sky HD package.
+1, Republic of Ireland and HD versions of the channels, broadcast on pan-European transponders are unchanged in terms of coverage, although Yesterday +1 is currently configured as a free-to-view service, which means although Sky card is at the present time still required, it is no longer part of any of Sky’s subscription packages.
Update
Statement from Freesat:
Freesat viewers will be able to enjoy Yesterday, Drama and Really this Christmas.
Drama premieres for December include Call the Midwife and Captain Webb. Also featured are The Pinkertons, The Last Detective, Death In Paradise, Garrow’s Law, Moby DickLouis Theroux: Behind Bars premieres on Really in December. Other highlights include I Survived Evil, High Hopes Choir, Cold Justice, My Ghost Stories, Paranormal Witness and Most Haunted.
Medieval Murder Mysteries premieres on Yesterday. December highlights include Murder Maps, The Birth of Empire: East India Company and Who Do You think you are? There will also be a Natural History Stacks including Blue Planet, Frozen Planet, Africa and Wonders of the Solar System.The channels will launch on the service on the 8th December. Their channel numbers will be: Drama – 162, Yesterday – 163 and Really – 164.
Any idea on how we get uktv Drama, Yesterday etc cannot find them anywhere.
The three new entertainment channels; Drama (Ch. 162), Yesterday (Ch. 163) and Really (Ch. 164) are now available to watch on Freesat. If you cannot receive them then either your dish is too small for where you are , or needs realigning. The channels are on the UK beam, the same beam as BBC channels. So if you can get BBC channels then you should be able to get these three new FTA channels also. Sky boxes may need a reboot to pick up the channels on their new frequency.
There is something not right. I get all the other channels on my 2.4m dish but no signal on these. Channels and have looked up the freq on lyngsat. My dish is fine and I am near benidorm. Have you seen these channels working,I think not.
These channels have been live for several years on the Sky pay platform.
They are now live for free, and are on freesat (channel nos 164 ish). And still on sky but no longer subscription.
So yes I have seen them working.
IF you have a SKy or Freesat box, then they will automatically pick them up on their correct frequency.
If you cannot receive them on a 2.4m dish in Benidorm, then you have something really wrong with your systems, as there is nothing wrong with the channels….
I lost the channels a few days ago when they changed and have be banging my head since. I don’t use an official box so I have to enter the new frequencies. I now know that they are off air as I have seen it post on a website but there is no info other than saying they are off air. Anyway saying you have seen them working is not what I’d hoped to hear. I hoped you would tell me you had seen them but not since the change. Thanks for your time, hopefully they’ll be back soon.
The channels are NOT off air – all channels on their new 12129 frequency are working fine – so no idea why someone is posting they are off air!! (and if all three were off air, that would also mean the pay channel on the same frequency – like Dave – would also be off air – and the forums I monitor would be full of posts about it, but they are no posts about these channel being off air!)
They are working fine on their new frequency.
And on Freesat, Sky and other satellite receivers.
I have just tested all three free to air and they are fine.
If I can get them on my 80cm dish where I am (not that far from you) , I am pretty sure you should be able to get them on your 2.4m dish – so you if cannot receive them then you have an issue with your system somewhere, as there is nothing wrong with the signals or channels.
OK thanks very much. I’ll have a look. Odd that I I get the weaker BBC and not the uktv though. Thanks for your time.
Most of the BBC frequencies are quite strong compared to other frequencies – ITV1 HD for example is the weakest I have found (on both their frequencies!)
12129 is also a tad lower than BBC frequencies from what I can see.
I seem to be having the same problem as Steve.
I get all the BBC channels (and most others) from a 1.8 offset dish and a Humax Freesat box. We live close to Almoradi north of Torry.
However I don’t get any of the UKTV channels. I just had a look at transponder 12129 and there is not a flicker of a signal.
Is this likely to be dish alignment considering I get all the other channels?
FYI Just checked the BBC1 SD signal as reported by the box ‘i’ button it is showing 100% strength and about 75-85% quality.
I am a regular reader of your posts and had some great info from you – Thanks and keep up the good work!
Like I said the BBC signals are quite strong compared to other signals, like ITV1HD and 12129.
So even if you are getting good BBC signals, your dish may need a small tweak, or small LNB skew adjustment, to bring the channels in.
A fellow installer in that area has a 1.4m offset dish and reports “signal looks good and there are no known issue with this frequency.”, so you should be able to get it on a 1.8m offset with no problems.
I think I invented the size of my dish – actually its a 1.4m.
When the weather is a bit more pleasant I’ll get on the roof and give it a gentle tweak. The LNB skew is about 7 0’clock at the moment which I understood from one of your posts (ages ago) is about right for this region so I’ll try the other adjustments first. Thanks for all the advice.
Cheers – Les
Your LNB skew may be at “about 7 o clock”, but it needs to be properly aligned and maximised, something that cane really only be done with a pro signal meter.
But if you are having a go yourself, it may be 7.01 or 7.02 etc o’clock to get the max from it… literally one millimetre can make all the difference ingetting channels and not getting channels…….
I think the pro meter is a spectrum analyser isn’t it? I just have a Screwfix satellite finder.
Do you know how much would it would cost to get a pro alignment from your local installer?
I think the screwfix is a simple “beeper” unit, which only says that you are on a satellite, not which one, and not what the skew is like.
Sorry, but I am based near Valencia and do not cover your area
I’ve managed to tune Yesterday on my standard Sky box but on my Sky+ box it finds it on 12129 and I press the correct button to store it but it doesn’t show on the EPG,but is still in other channels on the Services button
On a Sky Digiboxes (Sky, Sky+, Sky HD and Sky+HD) Yesterday is on Sky channel 537.
The “+1” is on 538.
Where they have been for many years!
So no need to add it to “other channels” as it is already on the Sky Guide.
If your box is not including it in the channel list, then reboot your Sky box.