Discovery channels move to UK beam, changing reception in some areas of Spain
Discovery channels move to UK beam, changing reception in some areas of Spain
The Discovery group of channels, has changed frequencies.
And satellite beams
The channesl used to be on the EUropean beam, meaning nice and easy recpetion across Spain
But yesterday, the channels changed frequencies, and changed to the UK beam.
This UK beam, is the same beam that carries channel like BBC and ITV.
This means that some areas of southern Spain, like the Costa del Sol, and Barcelona area, may find they can no longer access these channels on their current satellite dish. You will now need a larger satellite dish to receive these channels.
For other areas of Spain, like the Valencia and Costa Blanca area, you should find that reception has not changed much, and the channels should still be received on the various 110×120 and 125x135cm satellite dishes that we install.
The Discovery channels new frequency is:
12382
H
DVB-S
SR 27500
FEC 5/6
The channels affected by this move area :
Discovery Channel UK
Animal Planet Europe
Discovery Channel UK +1
TLC Ireland
Discovery Science UK
Discovery History
Discovery Home & Health UK
Discovery Turbo UK
Discovery Channel Ireland
Quest Red +1
Investigation Discovery Ireland
TLC UK
Update:
Quest, Quest+1 and Quest Red have also moved to this new frequency.
Further analysis of this frequency shows that it is very weak…slightly weaker than the previous weakest frequency used by Dave, Gold, Watch (ie UKTV Group of channels).
This may mean that reception will be very borderline for the 110×120 and 125x135cm satellite dishes that we install in the Costa Blanca / Valencia area of Spain.
Has Sky News also moved? I can’t pick it up today (in Warsaw, Poland).
Only Sky News HD has changed frequencies in the last day or so, but even then it is still on the European beam
No changes to Sky News SD from what I can tell
This for me to put it politely – IS A DISASTER!
I live in the Canary Islands and for the last 20+ years had no problem in receiving the Discovery Channels. How many more British ex-pats living in Spain and the Canaries (and paying SKY a hefty monthly subscription!) will get screwed when more Sky channels are transferred across to the UK beam? Over the years we have lost loads of Sky channels – Too many to mention 🙁
I’m sure many of us can’t afford (let alone erect) a 5m class dish on our properties! Sky must make millions (and surely they know this?) from ex-pats living across Europe. Would be interesting to know how much their profits would drop without the ex-pat community paying in their part!
Discovery will have made the decision to move their channels from one beam to another…not Sky.
Also, the channels on Sky have no obligation, or contractual obligation, to make their channels available across Europe. As the T&Cs say, the sky card is for use in the UK and ROI only.
(Current estimate is around 500k Sky UK subs are for expats.)
Perhaps the move by Discovery was to make you subscribe to the Spanish satellite service Movistar+, which carries Discovery channels for the Spanish market…and has most of the content that is on Discovery UK.
Thanks for your reply. I appreciate what you say and never considered it was the Discovery Channel’s decision to move onto the beam targeted for the UK. So there are estimated to be 500K expats subscribing to Sky? That’s more than I thought. Probably around 5% then?
As for Movistar+ – I thought that was a broadband service and not via satellite? A few years ago I subscribed to Canal+ (on Astra 19.2E) but the viewing card monthly subs for that was more expensive than for Sky! So I gave that up and no longer have a dish or receiver for that service.
As for broadband, currently that’s not possible due to the very slow speed (~1Mb) at my location. No fibre optic cable yet in this area (La Palma). So I’ll just have to wait and see if that becomes an option. As it happens I do get a Discovery Channel on terrestrial digital TV and able to change the language from Spanish to English, but have yet to see any of the programs I enjoyed watching such as ‘Gold Divers’ for example! Such is life eh for us ex-pats 😉
Movistar bought Canal+, and renamed the service Movistar+ a few years ago.
DMAX is the “Discovery Light” service, shows Discovery programmes that are a few years old… but as you say with the bonus of Spanish or English audio
Hello there…
First time I make a comment on this site.
I live in Menorca and we have also lost the channels mentioned above.
I have got a Channel Master 1,80 fibreglass dish and can watch Gold, Dave etc. but NO Discovery Channel on its new UK beam. I use a very sensitive receiver, Pace 2600 C, but even so, no Discovery Channels at all.
Congratulations for this superb website, lots and lots of information!
Discovery channels are very weak, weaker than DAVE etc.
But I have also found some boxes like them, and others do not…
For example the Humax Freesat HB1100S does not like them, but the HDR version does.
Over the last 2/3 weeks I have lost all the Discovery set of channels, these are the NON HD channels. I have checked my LNB for webs but it was clean except in the horn was the smallest spider I have ever seen.
My dish is 2.4 metre with a solid base fixture ( I doubt it has moved) when I look at the signal strength on the
Services menu it is poor on both the lnb1 and record channel lnb2.
I do not have HD on Sky.
HI, unfortunately you do not say where you are, so I cannot say if your dish is large enough or not to receive those channels.
The SD Discovery channels are on a really weak signal. Pretty much the weakest UK TV satellite signal there is. They have been since this was posted, back in Sept 2017.
Since then there have been no changes.
Although you say “I doubt it has moved”, the dish has to only move a tiny amount for it to lose focus. Winds may have slightly moved your dish, or even warped your dish out of shape. Even if on “solid base fixture” like a concrete base, the ground underneath can still move.
The only other thing that may cause this, is that you are already in a “fringe” reception area, and the increase in heat and humidity are causing a drop in signals getting to your dish…personally where I am I have not seen this happen yet.