The new relay in the north of Bilsdale’s coverage area improves or even restores TV reception of the main Freeview channels after nearly 10 months of disruption.
Viewers in Blackhall Colliery, and areas to the north including eastern Peterlee, Horden and Easington Colliery may need to retune their TVs to benefit from the improvements. Mast operator Arqiva has stressed there is advice available if anyone needs technical support.
Freeview signals were affected by major fire at the Bilsdale transmitter, which serves the area, on 10th August 2021. Temporary relays have been set up across North Yorkshire, Teesside and County Durham to plug coverage holes until Bilsdale’s replacement is finished.
Limited channels
The new mast will help around 6,000 homes receive a more reliable Freeview signal. But only the main Freeview channels are carried by the mast. These include BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 and 5, but exclude channels including Drama, Quest and Sky News.
The Durham coast is currently shielded from the temporary tower at Bilsdale by hills in the North York Moors. A higher, more permanent structure at Bilsdale will eventually be tall enough to see over the tops of those hills. This structure will supply the full Freeview national channel line-up.
Previously, Arqiva had offered homes in the area the option to have their aerials repointed at alternative transmitters. Not all areas were able to get to suitable signal from an alternative transmitter.
Adrian Twyning, Chief of Operations at Arqiva, said:
“This latest relay site at Blackhall Colliery will improve services for more than 6,000 households in the area and is part of our concerted efforts to restore TV services to those affected by the Bilsdale Mast fire.
“During recent months, we have built a number of relay sites across County Durham, Tees Valley and North Yorkshire to improve TV signals and transmission and work is progressing well on the rebuilding of the full-size replacement mast.
“While some equipment may automatically retune, viewers in the area are advised to retune to benefit from the improvements. They can visit bilsdalemast.co.uk for more details of the change, information on how to retune their TV and how to get further help should they need it.”
Blackhall Colliery UHF manual tuning frequencies:
Location: NGR: NZ 45440 39740
What caused the Bilsdale mast fire?
At the moment, Arqiva understands water ingress into the electric supply of third-party equipment is to blame. It can’t however provide more information until the insurance claims process is completed.
How long will it be before services are restored back to how they were before 10th August 2021?
The replacement Bilsdale mast will be ready during 2023.
At over 300 metres in height, on top of a 380 metre hill, the mast top will be almost 700 metres above sea level. That’s high enough to provide line of sight to everyone who previously could receive a signal from the original mast.