After re-launching with wider availability on Freeview in December, Together TV’s presence on the platform has been tidied up. Two streaming channels have combined into one portal.
- Together TV differentiates between its terrestrial broadcast channel (82) and IP-delivered HD channel (285)
- Pet Collective and Fail Army combine their services onto a single portal
Together TV’s return to wider availability on Freeview after it was given a short-term slot by multiplex operator SDN in December resulted in the channel being available on channel 82 through the day and again on channel 790 between 05:00 and 08:00. In addition, its streaming only +1 channel was placed on channel 285.
From Wednesday, there are now two 24 hour versions of Together on Freeview.
- The regular broadcast channel on 82 continues as normal, in SD.
- On channel 285, what was formerly Together TV+1 is now ‘Together TV IP”, a streaming version of the same channel, but in HD. The streaming version can’t be recorded.
- Together TV+1 has migrated to channel 92, taking the 05:00-08:00 broadcast slot formerly used by its main channel.
Together becomes the second Freeview channel to be duplicated in this way. Al Jazeera English already broadcasts in both SD/terrestrial broadcast (235) and HD/IP-streaming (267).
These duplications potentially fall away on next-generation Freeview receivers, launching later this year under the ‘Freely‘ name. Where a Freely-approved IP stream exists, devices can be told to prefer the streaming option, only dropping back to terrestrial if internet connectivity is lost or not available.
The IP streaming channels currently found between channel 260 and 300 will move further down the channel list on Freely devices, and won’t be actively supported as platform operator Everyone TV wants to nip the bud of streaming services that rely on a terrestrially delivered IP portal.
Streaming changes
Pet Collective and Fail Army have combined their services into one portal.
Viewers can now choose between the two streaming services via the portal on channel 264.
Pet Collective’s standalone portal on 266 was delisted earlier on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s changes were the second in a month, with a change at the beginning of the month triggered by the end of seasonal channels. Freeview now reverts to a normal cycle of monthly updates.
Marc Thornham