Viewers in London become the latest to benefit from ongoing scheme to upgrade every BBC TV service to HD.
The upgrade reached the first Freesat receivers on Tuesday afternoon and will continue its rollout to reach Sky satellite receivers (Sky+HD, Sky Q) during the course of Wednesday 15th February.
Following the upgrade, BBC One London HD will be available on Freesat and Sky satellite channel 101, meaning viewers can access the full BBC One schedule in HD on one channel. This includes BBC London News, Politics London and any other London-only programme on the channel.
The arrival of BBC One London in HD on satellite comes one day later than originally billed by the BBC, as part of a wider upgrade to its services. Viewers in the West, South West and Channel Islands are also being upgraded this week.
By the end of next week, BBC One HD will be fully regionalised across England on satellite. BBC One South East is due to be the last region to be upgraded on Thursday 23rd February.
Freeview viewers will need to wait a little longer to see their regional news service on BBC One HD. The BBC currently says Freeview will be upgraded by the “end of April”. BBC iPlayer streams are also yet to be upgraded to HD.
But viewers with older standard definition only satellite receivers will begin to lose services. Sky is offering affected subscribers a free upgrade to Sky Q. Freesat users are asked to check channel 799 to see if their receiver is compatible.
▶ Overview
Freesat
- The existing BBC One HD service on channel 106 is closing. You’ll now see BBC One London in HD on channel 101. Older Freesat boxes may not upgrade until overnight into Wednesday.
- Although the BBC hasn’t warned about series links, RXTV has received complaints from viewers in regions where the upgrade has already occurred: so review any series links set for BBC One HD on channel 106.
Sky Q and Sky+HD
- The existing BBC One HD service on channel 115 continues for a short while. But during the course of Wednesday 15th February, BBC One London will switch to HD on channel 101.
- Ensure any new series link recordings on BBC One HD are set to channel 101 instead of channel 115.
Older Sky and Freesat receivers (non-HD)
- You’ll lose BBC One London. Instead of seeing regional news programmes, you’ll get an on-screen message informing you of your options.
Marc Thornham