For the second time in two years, the satellite feed of BBC News via the Eutelsat Hotbird satellite system is changing.
- Change may affect viewers in hotels across Europe, Middle East and North Africa
Globecast, which distributes the Europe feed of the BBC News channel via the Eutelsat Hotbird satellite system is preparing to complete a further change to the channel’s availability.
Two years after BBC News went live on a new Hotbird frequency for the first time in over two decades, the channel is on the move again. The move to Hotbird transponder 50 (11727 V) brings BBC News together with BBC World Service TV and radio feeds.
Dual illumination on old and new frequencies commenced in May. The transition period is expected to conclude at the end of July.
Unlike UK-based satellite services like Sky and Freesat, many Hotbird users will need to manually tune their satellite receivers to the new frequencies. And it won’t be just direct-to-home viewers that are affected. Although a growing number of businesses are switching to IP feeds, the satellite feed is still used by various hotel chains and headend systems in Europe, Middle East and North Africa.
For the first time on Hotbird, the new BBC News feed is broadcast in MPEG-4 and via a DVB-S2 transponder. This means older satellite receivers won’t be able to access the channel going forward. Essentially, this is the same technological change that many UK satellite services have completed in recent years.
BBC News Hotbird frequency (Summer 2025 change)
Satellite: Hotbird 13G (13°E)
Frequency: 11727
Polarisation: Vertical
Symbol Rate: 29900
FEC: 3/4
Mode: DVB-S2, 8PSK
Service ID: 13104
The feed is SD-only with a static bitrate of 3.2Mbps. This is slightly less than the old 3.6 Mpbs feed. However, the switch from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 should result in better picture quality. The new feed retains the standard resolution of 720×576.
The BBC offers a free-to-air HD version of BBC News Europe via the Astra 1 satellite system at 19.2°E.
The Europe feed has customised ad-breaks, programme trailers and weather updates compared to other global feeds of BBC News.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: BBC