Viewers in parts of the UK can now access 24 hour music channel Trace, as it rebuilds its UK presence after ditching Sky.
- Channel is delivered via streaming on compatible Freeview TVs.
- Technological quirk means some broadband-connected users will miss out.
Trace Music’s UK channel has launched on Freeview channel 285 this week as part of a late month update for users of the free-to-air television platform.
Trace UK was launched as a streaming replacement for Trace’s original UK channels which were distributed on Sky’s satellite platform for a brief time in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Its last channel left Sky in 2023. Previously, viewers could find Trace Music via the Channelbox portal on channel 271.
Promising to offer the “biggest beats and newest drops”, the standalone music channel fills a gap that’s been left in the Freeview channel line-up since the decline of services like 4Music and TMF. Other music channels on Freeview, generally operating on a part-time basis, fill the void for a much older audience, featuring music from the 20th century.
Trace UK is one of the latest hybrid streaming channels that’s launched on the Freeview platform. It’s hybrid because the app directing smart TVs to the online stream of the channel is broadcast over the airwaves.
As a result of this technological quirk, it means some users can’t access the channel through Freeview. The app carrying Trace is broadcast through the local TV multiplex, which reaches around 2/3 of the UK population. This leaves around 1 in 3 homes unable to see channel 285, even after retuning.
READ MORE: Why is my internet connected Freeview or Freely TV missing streaming channels?
Other channel updates
Other changes to the Freeview platform this month include Rewind TV moving to channel 92 and the arrival of Euronews as a streaming channel on 257. More information…
However, you may need to rescan your TV to receive all available channels on their correct channel numbers.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: Trace