Author: Scott

HD Upgrade on the Way for UKTV Play

UKTV, owned by BBC Studios, has unveiled improvements for on-demand streaming platform UKTV Play. The platform allows viewers to stream programmes from free-to-air channels Dave, Drama, W, and Yesterday, as well as premium channels Alibi, Eden, and Gold for BT TV, Sky, and Virgin Media customers with the relevant subscription.

From today (Wednesday 28th September), a new look has been introduced, including an new logo. From November, high definition (HD) content will become available, initially for new released programmes, but re-encoded back catalogue content will follow shortly after, where a HD master (original copy) is available.

What is slightly unclear is how this will affect BT TV, Sky, and Virgin Media in the longer term, as HD versions of the free-to-air channels remain exclusive to paying subscribers. Perhaps this a sign that HD may eventually become free-to-air on linear TV platforms such as Freesat in the near future.

UKTV Play is available on a number of devices; including mobile phones and tablets, Apple TV, Youview, Freeview Play devices and some Freesat receivers.

Music Channel Changes

A few changes have been or are being made to music channels. This will be a longish article, but I felt it wise to wait until I had the full details, rather than post multiple very short articles.

I shall begin with the easiest change, relating to terrestrial (Freeview) only. Now 90s has moved down to channel number 87, to allow for the new Earthx channel take over number 79 (an article on Earthx will follow later this week).

A little more complex, is that of Classic Hits (formerly That’s TV Music), which has resulted in increased coverage. On the Manchester only Freeview multiplex, Classic Hits has replaced Country Music Entertainment, giving a 24 hour service to the Greater Manchester area. The latter remains available on compatible internet connected devices, via the OnDemand365 streaming portal. The Manchester version is labelled Classic Hits MCR, and has taken Classic Hits original number 91.

The part-time version of Classic Hits continues, but now broadcast from 4am to 7am, instead of 1am to 7am. This allows That’s TV (UK) to extended it’s broadcast hours to 4am, with both services continuing to timeshare. The UK version of Classic Hits has taken over Country Music Entertainment’s channel number 88, benefitting from a slightly higher and more prominent EPG position.

In addition Classic Hits has also launched on satellite, and can be found on Sky channel number 366. The service is free to air, and can be manually tuned in to other satellite receivers, but is not yet available on the Freesat EPG.

Trace Urban, Trace Latina and Trace Brazuca have joined the Channelbox streaming platform, which can be accessed via the portal on Freeview channel number 271 and via mobile phone apps.

Lastly, Spotlight TV (formerly Keep It Country) have now confirmed the channel is leaving the Sky and Freesat platforms, on or around the end of August. The channel is looking to join the above mentioned Channelbox platform, although at the time of writing has not yet done so. The channel was for a time the only music channel on the Freesat platform, and has blamed the decision on the methods used to calculate viewing figures. The channel is expected to continue in a more limited, and largely online based form.

Virgin Media Four Launches in Ireland

Virgin Media has expanded it’s channel provision in Ireland, with the launch of a new general entertainment channel Virgin Media Four.

The new channel is available on from launch on the Soarview terrestrial platform and via the Virgin Media cable platform. As yet, there is no satellite provision, but this is likely as existing services Virgin Media One, Two, and Three are available on Sky in Ireland (encrypted).

Channel numbers confirmed are 7 for Soarview, displacing childrens channel RTE jnr to number 17, and 110 for Virgin Media’s cable viewers.

Virgin Media now has four main TV channels in Ireland. Flagship Virgin Media One, youth focused Virgin Media Two, and drama led Virgin Media Three sit alongside the new channel.

August 2022 Website Updates

Hard to believe that All About Digital TV first launched away back in 2019 (initially as TelevisionSRS), 3 years ago. In that time, despite time pressures and other commitments, the website has become a comprehensive resource of information on digital TV and radio broadcasts.

The colour scheme may have changed few times, starting of red based, then becoming orange and grey, then back to red, then red and navy, and now (finally?) purple. Despite this, the ownership of the website has remained constant throughout. Although some information has been far from as update to date as I, the author would like, it has remained available throughout.

Focussing on the next round of improvements, work has already begun on updating many of the pages which have become out of date, including the channel listings. Over the coming weeks, the features section will be separated from the news postings, to allow for a greater variety of magazine style articles to be published.

The TV industry is generally stable at this time, so now is the ideal opportunity to try and bring some life back into the underdeveloped sections. You may need to update some of your browser bookmarks, as some pages may move to new locations. However, there are no changes planned to overall availability of existing content.

BBC Proposes Increased Hours for Cymru 2

The BBC has unveiled plans to extend part-time radio service BBC Radio Cymru 2, from 15 hours a week to 60 hours a week. BBC Radio Cymru 2 is one of three radio stations that the BBC operates in Wales; English language service BBC Radio Wales, and Welsh language BBC Radio Cymru and it’s ‘2’ counterpart.

Cymru 2 was first launched in 2018, on DAB radio, online, and digital TV platforms. The part time service typically broadcasts from 7am to 9am each morning providing a music based alternative to the speech content normally found on BBC Radio Cymru.

The move, however, is at odds with other BBC policy, which has seen successive cuts to BBC local and nations radio, particularly to local radio in England. Largely disguised under the cover of the Covid-19 pandemic, BBC local radio in England has seen increased programme sharing, standardised schedules, reduced travel bulletins, and a reduction in news based speech content.

Some campaigners online, particularly on social media, have also been quick to point out that the BBC is yet to provide any form of bespoke content for the Isle of Man, either on TV or radio, despite the Channel Islands having both local radio stations and local TV news on BBC One.

The intention is to implement the changes from the autumn, subject to regulatory approval.

Sky Glass Channel Additions

Sky have made improvements to its Sky Glass service, the dish free service based around its streaming TV.

The most significant change is the addition of 9 channels that had already been available on Sky’s satellite platform, but we’re absent when Sky Glass first launched. These are:

    • Bloomberg
    • Colors HD
    • Colors Rishtey
    • Colors Gujrati
    • GB News
    • NBC News Now
    • TalkTV
    • Zee TV
    • Zee Cinema

Where available, these channels will be HD by default.

Other improvements include the inclusion of YouTube within voice control functions, and a single login process for all BBC services such as BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds.

Sky Glass to Launch in Ireland

Sky have confirmed that its Irish operation is to launch Sky Glass in the Republic of Ireland, in just under a months time, on the 25th August (2022).

Sky Glass, already available in the UK, is based around a bespoke TV which streams channels via an internet connection, removing the need for a satellite dish or separate set-top box.

As is the case in the UK, the Sky Glass television will be available in three sizes; small (43 inch), medium (55 inch), and large (65 inch), and a variety of colours. Customers in the Republic of Ireland can already pre-register for Sky Glass.

Channel availability is likely to vary compared to Sky’s satellite service, and the full channel line up is yet to be confirmed.

Other developments will see Sky launch their Sky Mobile virtual mobile phone network next year (2023), and four flagship retail stores are also scheduled to open.

Substantial Increase in Amazon Prime Subscription Costs

Amazon have announced significant increases in the cost of both monthly and annual subscriptions to its Amazon Prime service. In addition, to next day delivery for purchases made via the website, subscribers have other benefits including access to the Prime Video on-demand streaming service.

The changes take effect from 15th September (2022), and will see the monthly price rise from £7.99 to £8.99 a month, with the annual price rising from £79 to £95 a year. New customers will pay the higher price on this date, with existing customers facing the increase on the first renewal/roll over after this date.

This is the first increase in the price since 2014, and Amazon have blamed the increase on increased inflation and operating costs, and have not ruled out further increases.

Council Tax Levy for BBC Funding Proposed

Although this website has made the editorial decision to avoid entering the debate on how state owned public service broadcaster BBC should be funded, a notable development has prompted a news article on this subject.

License to Change, BBC Future Funding is a report that has been published by the House of Lords. The report suggests breaking the link between TV ownership and the charge, by replacing the TV license with an additional charge on council tax (local government) bills. This would allow for lower income households to pay less.

Other ideas include a ring-fenced element of income tax, which would again provide for the charge to be varied according to income. Perhaps a less drastic idea is a reformed version of the TV license fee, which like the methods mentioned above, would feature discounts for low income households.

The report also suggests that the BBC should expand commercial operations, including subscription services, but does note that any domestic subscription service could compromise the BBC’s principal of universal access.

The reported also advised against some previously suggested funding models, including fully subscription based services, direct government grant and advertising.

At the time of writing, 75% of the BBC’s income(amounting to £3.75 billion) comes from the license fee, which has been frozen until 2024. The remainder of the income comes from commercial operations such as UKTV in the UK, and the worldwide Britbox joint venture with ITV.

Small Scale DAB Roll-out Progress

Unfortunately, time is not always on my side, so digital radio reports tend to focus on larger radio stories. It is not the intention to cover the small-scale DAB roll out in any great detail, but I would like to summarise progress to date.

After lengthy trial periods, and Ofcom eventually issuing permanent licenses, some of the small-scale DAB multiplexes are entering service. Most stations have opted to use DAB+, with mixed sound quality provided.

In the North East, the Tynemouth and South Shields multiplex had the honour of being the first to launch. A mix of local and space filler (small nationally aimed stations using small-scale DAB to expand coverage) services are broadcast. 18 stations in total are broadcast, all using 32 kbps DAB+, giving both poor audio quality and a lot of wasted bandwidth.

Newcastle and Gateshead has also launched, quietly at the start of July (2022). Some stations are yet to join, but all 4 community stations on FM in the area will be broadcast. Again DAB+ is in use, but at 48 kbps for all stations, better audio quality is on offer. All but one of the stations currently broadcast on the Newcastle and Gateshead multiplex originate from within the North East.

The multiplex for Salisbury was the second of the completely new multiplexes to launch. Largely using DAB+, 4 stations on this multiplex are using the incredible low bit rate of 24 kbps, giving poor to appalling sound quality. They will be named and shamed as AspenWaite Radio, Boom Light, and the Salisbury versions of Hot Radio and Hot Gold. Two versions of Greatest Hits Radio are broadcast, but carrying near identical programming, with one in 32 kbps DAB+ and the other in 80 kbps mono normal DAB. Like the Tynemouth and South Shields multiplex, a large number of space filler services are broadcast, and poor audio quality and poor utilisation of bandwidth available are the order of the day.

Lastly, I understand the Edinburgh multiplex has soft-launched over the past couple of days, but I don’t have further details to share at the time of writing. The Birmingham trial multiplex has successfully converted into the Birmingham North multiplex, and the Cambridge trial multiplex has also made the conversion to permanent multiplex. Inverclyde won’t now launch, as the license has been revoked.