Listeners who access BBC local radio in England, or BBC stations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are affected by Freeview’s summer channel update.
- Channel changes follows withdrawal of some commercial radio stations in April.
- Viewers may need to retune for the changes to take effect.
The BBC has shuffled up its local and nation stations across the UK on Freeview, meaning all BBC stations will now appear in a single block on the Freeview channel list, starting from channel 700.
It follows the withdrawal of Bauer Media-owned stations including Hits Radio, Greatest Hits Radio, Kiss and Magic from Freeview back in April. That left a gap between channel 712-717 on the Freeview channel list.
At midday on Wednesday, stations previously found on channels 719-722, 726 and 734 & 735 moved up to a new slot between channel 711-717. The change was part of the latest monthly Freeview channel update.
On some receivers, the new channel numbers won’t take effect until the device has been retuned.
The stations have been mapped across to their new channel numbers as follows:
| If your local BBC station was originally on this channel number… | You’ll now find it on this new channel number after retuning… |
|---|---|
| 719 | 711 |
| 720 | 712 |
| 721 | 713 |
| 722 | 714 |
| 726 | 715 |
| 734 | 716 |
| 735 | 717 |
So for example, in Wales, BBC Radio Wales has moved from channel 719 to 711.
In the South West, BBC Radio Devon has moved from 720 to 712.
If you’re in the North East of England, BBC Radio Tees has moved from 722 to 714.
Further information
You can find a full list of BBC Local Radio stations and their Freeview channel numbers based on where you live on our BBC Local Radio via Freeview page.
Check all the latest Freeview channel changes on our Freeview Updates page.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: BBC/DTV Services Ltd