Five 'cleared for Freesat launch'

[Devilfish]

Five has resolved rights issues and will announce a Freesat launch date shortly.

Freesat managing director Emma Scott said: "Five are coming on this year and we are hoping for an announcement shortly. They would have liked to have been there at the launch, but it was not possible because of rights issues."

Scott told What Satellite And Digital TV she expected there to be 230 channels on the Freesat EPG by early 2009. "We have got some exciting international and music channels coming up, including one exclusive Freesat channel, and hopefully more HD content," she said.

"It's slightly decided by a timetable set down with Sky, which concerns the uplinking arrangements so we do not interfere with their EPG and they do not interfere with ours. The EPG data is an additional component which is added to the broadcast stream, and they were not able to combine it for all the channels in time for our launch."

[.: JaCkPoT :.]

thnx 4 that, didnt know till now. ur gr8.

[spectra]

This is defenatly good news so now I know if all my other eqipment goes down! Then I can get all old skool british channels!!!

[fibble]

Thats good news - have been keeping a DVB=T card in my Mythbox as the Mrs watches Neighbours and Home and Away ;)

[alunfennell]

Managing director Emma Scott made the comment you reported but Five have not made any official comment on any imminet addition to the Freesat service Unless they are to pay more for there programing to cover Rights issues there has been no major attempts to address rights issues with there programs in the past couple of months, there contract with NDS finishes within the next few weeks, but this could be extended untill there redy to joine Freesat, further more Five were playing around with BISS encryption in the summer and the channel was been opened using Softcam Key available on the internet, this encryption method could be used by Five on Freesat to stop ordinary Free to air receivers viewing the channel.

On another note None of the other Five sibling channels are intended to join the Freesat platform which will continue using NDS encryption via Sky Digital.



Regards:
Alun.

[disneyboy]

great news

[.: JaCkPoT :.]

Five is now currently broadcasting free to air and this has said to be making the transfer to freesat 1step closer.

[alunfennell]

Indeed it has, But its still at a testing stage, The channel swoped with BBC News to get on to the narrow beam of 2D but still it can not be tuned in using a Sky Receiver obviously to lock out viewing from Irish subscribers of Sky, this indicates that Five are transmitting with the channel been flaged which will become interesting when the channel is propary launched on Freesat.

Five have yet to make any official comment on launch date and BBC News has moved to the wider bandwith of 2A which realy shows how little space there is for any other major channels interested in going Freesat in the near future.