The BBC plans to activate a feature that will move BBC One HD and BBC Two HD to the top of the Freeview channel list on compatible Freeview Play devices.
In October, the BBC first announced it had launched a feature that would automatically move the HD version of some of its services to the channel number currently used by the standard definition (SD) version of the channel.
This meant that viewers with compatible devices would see BBC Three HD (in England and NI) on Freeview channel 23. The move was not possible in Scotland and Wales where BBC Three HD is not available on Freeview. Meanwhile CBBC HD (England/NI) and CBeebies HD (All UK) swapped places with their SD counterparts on the channel list. The broadcaster originally confirmed it had rolled out something similar for BBC Four HD. However, it now says that move is put on hold.
According to the BBC, it plans to introduce similar changes across BBC One HD, BBC Two HD and again for BBC Four HD “later this year”.
Only on compatible devices
HD substitution is only available on some of the most recently manufactured Freeview Play TVs and boxes. The feature that powers this – Channel List Management – was only added to the Freeview Play specification in 2020. This means that a large proportion of Freeview Play TVs and boxes won’t support the function. For Channel List Management to work, the device needs to be connected the internet.
But for all other Freeview Play devices, BBC HD and SD channels will continue to be found on their normal channel numbers.
The ability to move BBC One HD to channel 1 is limited by the channel’s regionality. Ofcom rules on prominence prohibit BBC One HD moving to channel 1 in regions where it didn’t match the SD regional service. However, the BBC is currently working towards adding full support for BBC One HD regions on Freeview.
Meanwhile, it’s not possible to make similar changes on the BBC Scotland channel, for viewers north of the border. This is because the HD service only has restricted hours on Freeview and it would not be a like-for-like substitution.
Virgin Media and Sky Glass/Sky Stream already enable viewers to watch BBC regional news on BBC One HD.
Overview: how the changes would affect your channel list if you have a compatible device
The top of the Freeview channel list might look like this, assuming only the BBC triggered HD substitution:
BBC One HD
BBC Two HD
ITV SD
Channel 4 SD
Channel 5 SD
ITV2 SD
Local TV
BBC Four HD
(based on the Freeview channel list in England)
The SD versions of BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four would move to a dedicated ‘dumping ground’ below channel 610.
Iain Hatton
Published 18:28