A technical change means the music and entertainment channel will soon be added to Freesat TVs and boxes.
It follows the launch of its sister channels, including The Box and Box Hits in December. At the time, 4Music couldn’t be added to Freesat due to the way it was broadcast on satellite.
4Music has now commenced free-to-air test transmissions. Once initial tests are complete, 4Music will appear on the Freesat channel list.
Despite the name, 4Music has evolved into a youth-orientated entertainment channel. Music videos are generally only shown during the morning. As a result, it will be added to Freesat’s general entertainment section rather than the music section. It is currently assigned channel 181.
The addition is part of a wider return of Channel 4-owned services to Freesat, following changes in the ownership of the digital satellite TV service. Since last year, both Channel 4 and Channel 5 are shareholders in its parent company. Channel 4’s on-demand service All4 is still pending addition to the platform.
The change will also benefit owners of LG and Samsung smart TVs with a satellite connection, as these include Freesat support.
4Music on satellite: manual tuning
(as of 26/01/2022)
Satellite: Astra 2E (28.5E) UK Spotbeam
Frequency: 10936
Polarisation: vertical
Symbol Rate: 22000 (22 Mbaud)
FEC: 5/6
Mode: DVB-S, QPSK
Service ID: 8360
Until now, 4Music has been unable to broadcast on a free-to-air basis. That’s because it was previously broadcast on a satellite transponder that covered all of Europe. Due to broadcast rights issues surrounding some of the programmes 4Music shows, it was not possible to obtain clearance to broadcast freely to all of Europe.
On Tuesday 25th January 2022, the service has started broadcasting on a transponder that uses the UK spotbeam of satellite Astra 2E. That restricts coverage outside of the British Isles, allowing the channel to switch to free-to-air.