Freeview viewers in the Scottish Borders will need to retune their TV equipment on 1 March 2017 to continue watching BBC channels.
February 15th 2017; Some Freeview channels are moving to new airwaves to allow for the future development of new mobile broadband services¹. Following a decision by Ofcom, the media regulator, transmitters across the UK are being updated region by region as part of a major engineering programme being carried out between now and 2020.
Changes at the Selkirk transmitter will take place in the morning and are expected to be completed by 9:30am. After this, any viewers receiving their TV signal from Selkirk who find they are missing BBC channels should retune to get them back. High-definition (HD) BBC channels will not be affected.
The Selkirk transmitter serves around 18,000 homes. Freeview will be running an information campaign to prepare people for the change, including advertising and on-screen messages.
Retuning should be straightforward and some TV equipment will retune automatically. Anyone who needs advice, or who finds they are still missing BBC services after retuning, can visit the Freeview website at www.freeview.co.uk/borders or contact the Freeview Advice Line for free on 0808 100 0288. Some older aerials may need to be replaced to continue receiving these channels. Help will be available for viewers where this is the case².
Further information is available online at www.freeview.co.uk/borders
Notes:
Freeview is working with Digital UK, broadcasters and Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited to provide information and support for viewers.
1. In November 2014 Ofcom announced its decision to reallocate some airwaves used by Freeview to allow for the future launch new mobile services.
2. Ofcom estimates that a very small minority of households – less than 1 per cent – may need to replace their rooftop aerial during the engineering programme.
3. Equipment for other services that use Freeview channels, such as YouView, BT TV, TalkTalk, may also need to be retuned.