Transmitter company Arqiva has turned on two further relay sites, restoring TV signals to additional households affected by last summer’s transmitter fire at Bilsdale.
As a result, more viewers in the Bainbridge area in the Yorkshire Dales will be able to watch Freeview. Additionally, a new relay serving Kirkbymoorside and Pickering in the North York Moors also increases coverage.
However viewers will need to retune to restore all available channels in their area. More than 97% of affected households in North Yorkshire, Teesside and County Durham have now had a TV signal restored.
In recent weeks, new relays in Loftus and Thirsk have gone live. The Eston Nab relay, serving Middlesbrough, Redcar and Hartlepool has been upgraded and boosted.
Restoring the main Freeview channels
Signal restoration is focused on returning the main Freeview channels from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. The new relays will carry all main channels in both standard and high definition. However, in some locations, viewers may receive fewer Freeview channels than before the fire that knocked out the Bilsdale transmitter. Specifically, missing channels may include commercial services such as Sky News, Dave or Talking Pictures. That’s because a temporary 80 metre mast at nearby Bilsdale Quarry can’t provide the same coverage as the original mast. The fire-damaged mast was over three times higher, enabling signals to reach over the tops of the hills. It has now been demolished, pending further plans from Arqiva for the original site.
Arqiva’s Project Restore is running a dedicated freephone line, available on 0800 121 4828. The company also says the numbers of engineers available to provide support to eligible households is being increased from this week.
Adrian Twyning, Director of Operations at Arqiva, said:
“We are working round the clock to restore TV services and to help those affected. These smaller relay sites are a key part of Project Restore. We’re sorry for the disruption this has caused for people, and while we are making progress there is much to do.”
Bilsdale reception updates, including manual tuning information for the new relay sites…