Freeview viewers in several parts of the UK will need to retune their televisions and set-top boxes following upcoming BBC One regional channel changes scheduled for April 2023.

The changes will affect seven BBC One regions as part of ongoing updates to the UK’s digital terrestrial television network. Viewers in affected areas will be asked to carry out a channel retune to continue receiving their correct regional BBC One service normally.

The retune work will take place during the week beginning 26 April 2023.

Which BBC Regions Will Be Affected?

The planned Freeview changes will affect viewers receiving the following BBC One regional services:

• BBC One Cambridge
• BBC One Channel Islands
• BBC One East Midlands
• BBC One East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
• BBC One North East and Cumbria
• BBC One Oxford
• BBC One South

These changes will form part of wider technical updates to Freeview transmission systems and regional broadcasting arrangements.

Why Are BBC One Channels Changing?

The BBC and Freeview periodically reorganise digital terrestrial television frequencies and multiplex arrangements across the UK.

These changes are often carried out to:

• Improve transmission efficiency
• Expand HD services
• Reorganise regional broadcasting
• Support infrastructure upgrades
• Maintain long-term network reliability

In many cases, viewers will not notice any visible differences beyond needing to retune their receivers.

However, if a retune is not performed after the changes take place, some viewers may experience:

• Missing BBC One regional channels
• Blank screens
• “No Signal” messages
• Incorrect regional programming
• Duplicate channels

When Will the Retune Be Needed?

The BBC regional changes will take place on Wednesday 26 April 2023.

Following the overnight engineering work, affected viewers will need to retune their televisions or Freeview boxes to reload the updated channel information.

Most modern televisions and receivers can perform an automatic retune through the settings or installation menu.

In some cases, receivers may update automatically overnight, but many devices will still require a manual retune to restore normal service.

How to Retune Freeview Equipment

Retuning is normally a simple process and usually only takes a few minutes.

Viewers will typically need to:

• Open the TV or box settings menu
• Select installation or setup
• Choose automatic channel scan or retune
• Allow the receiver to search for channels again

Once complete, the updated BBC One regional service should appear correctly in the channel list.

Some older receivers may require a factory reset or first-time installation if problems continue after retuning.

Regional Broadcasting Remains Important

Although streaming services continue growing in popularity, regional television broadcasting still plays a major role within the BBC’s public service obligations.

BBC One regional services provide:

• Local news programmes
• Regional weather
• Local political coverage
• Community stories
• Regional opt-outs

Maintaining reliable regional broadcasting therefore remains an important part of both Freeview and BBC network planning.

Freeview Engineering Changes Continue

The April 2023 BBC One retune forms part of continuing engineering work across the UK digital terrestrial television network.

Freeview transmission systems regularly undergo upgrades and reorganisations as broadcasters continue balancing bandwidth, HD expansion and regional service requirements.

Over recent years, viewers have increasingly seen:

• HD channel expansions
• Frequency changes
• Multiplex reorganisations
• Local TV additions
• Technical upgrades

While these updates help modernise the network, they also occasionally require viewers to retune equipment to keep channels working correctly.

Check Your Region After Retuning

Following the 26 April 2023 changes, viewers should check that the correct BBC One regional service has been restored after retuning.

In some overlap reception areas, televisions may accidentally store the wrong regional transmitter if multiple signals are available.

This can sometimes result in incorrect local news programmes appearing after a retune.

For most viewers, however, the update should complete smoothly and restore normal BBC One regional viewing with minimal disruption.

This will only affect my readers in the UK, and not my readers in Spain, as Freeview is a UK only TV service. Freeview is transmitted by land based TV masts, and received via a TV aerial. As such, Freeview IS NOT available in Spain, as the signals from the Freeview TV masts simply do not reach Spain. Freeview IS NOT available via satellite, so again not available in Spain. This is a gental reminder that Freeview IS NOT available in Spain, dispite some TV installers here in Spain saying it is.