Meridian Region prepares for digital switchover

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Ben Hargreaves

Viewers in the Meridian region are advised to prepare for the digital television switchover as the key date of the 30th May is the official digital television switchover date.

Viewers in the Meridian television region that have not yet signed up to a digital television service have until the 30thMay to do so before the analogue television signal is switched to digital.

The Hastings, Tunbridge Wells, and Heathfield regions are the next to be switched over as part of the digital switchover in the meridian TV region

A digital switchover help scheme is available to people who are eligible and need assistance in getting a digital television service

Some transmitters in the Meridian television region have already been switched over to digital, and the process officially began on the 8th February.  The next key date for digital television switchover in the Meridian region is the 30th May, with the Hastings, Heathfield and Tunbridge Wells regions the next transmitters to make the switch to digital television.

If you have a digital television service from Sky, Virgin Media or Freesat, you will not need to worry about the switchover as your digital television service will continue to work as per normal.

However if you do not have a pay TV service and have a free to air digital television service such as Freeview, BT Vision or Top Up TV, then you will need to follow some simple steps in order to retune your equipment, and continue to watch your favourite digital television channels.

The first key date for the Hastings, Heathfield and Tunbridge Wells regions is the 30th May, on this date, BBC Two will be switched to digital meaning that if you do not have a digital television service by the 30th May you will no longer be able to watch BBC Two.  If you have a service from Freeview, BT Vision or Top Up TV you will need to retune your equipment.

Stage two of the digital switchover will be on the 16th June, and on this date all of the remaining channels will switchover to digital meaning that if you do not have a digital television service by this date you will no longer be able to watch any of the television channels which were previously analogue.  If you have a service from Freeview, BT Vision or Top Up TV you will need to retune your equipment on this date.

If you live in one of the affected Meridan television regions, and have not signed up to a digital television service, and if you are disabled, aged over 75, are registered blind or are partially sighted, or have lived in a care home for more than 6 months, you could be eligible for help under the Digital Switchover Help Scheme.  For more information on the Digital Switchover Help Scheme please call 0800 40 85 900.

Compare digital televisions packages in the Meridian television region using our comparison service at Digital TV Selector or call our team of independent and impartial experts for free on 0800 840 4942 who can help you to find the cheapest deal in your area, and even help you book your installation.

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RNIB enhances Freeview+ for the blind

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Jane Stott

The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) has unveiled new technology that will help blind people to record programs and pause live television using their Freeview+ set top box.

Freeview+ set top boxes have been given new functionality from the RNIB that will help blind and partially sighted people to record programs and pause live television using their Freeview+ digital television equipment.

The RNIB has launched new technology for the TVOnics Freeview+ DTR-HD500 set top box

The new text to speech functionality is built into the TVonics DTR-HD500 set top box

The new technology incorporates a brand new text to speech service which has been developed by the RNIB in conjunction with another company called IVONA.  The new feature will be available on the TVonics DTR-HD500 Freeview+ set top box.

The new feature gives blind and partially sighted users the ability to navigate around the Freeview electronic program guide (EPG), and can also be used for channel selection, recording, pausing and rewinding of live television.

Users can also benefit from existing accessibility features such as audio description, and the text to speech service can also learn about the users ability to interact with it as it can reduce the amount of guidance that it offers.

The new software will be available to users as a free download, but it is also preinstalled in the TVonics DTR-HD500 Freeview+ set top box, the box can be purchased from the RNIB website and costs £179.95.

Andy Carr of the set top box manufacturer TVonics said “The ease of use of our products has provided a great platform for IVONA and RNIB to build the text-to-speech technology and it’s a project that we are proud to be part of.”

While Fazilet Hadi of the RNIB said “We were delighted to work with TVonics and IVONA to create a mainstream set top box, which is fully accessible,”

Before adding “This is the first box which will allow blind people to independently record programmes and pause live TV. This box will enable people with sight loss to get a great digital TV experience without paying a premium.”

Compare digital television services using our comparison service at Digital TV Selector or call our team of experts for free and impartial advice on 0800 840 4942 who can help you find and sign up to the cheapest digital television packages

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Sky and Ofcom set for new disagreement

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Ben Hargreaves

Digital television providers including Sky, and the TV, broadband and phone regulator Ofcom are set for a fresh disagreement on the way in which they display their digital TV channels.

According to a recent report in the Telegraph, satellite television broadcaster Sky and Ofcom could be set to collide on the format of Sky’s content listings and channel placement on the electronic program guide.

Ofcom is set to disagree with Sky, Virgin Media, Freesat, and Freeview over the way in which it displays its digital television channels

Ofcom has asked for responses from all of the digital television providers regarding how they will display the local television channels

Sky is currently being investigated by Ofcom over its ‘fit and proper’ test to hold a TV licence, and the latest investigation will focus on all satellite and digital television broadcasters and the way in which they display their own digital TV channels against the public service broadcasters.

If Ofcom passes the new rulings, Sky could lose its Sky1 slot to another local television service which could cost the satellite television broadcaster millions of pounds.  This week Ofcom invited bids from 21 companies that would run the new local television channels in cities including Birmingham, Belfast, London and Manchester.

The regulator has consulted with all of the digital television providers to state where they plan to place the new local digital TV channels, but Ofcom has said it could decide to overrule any responses if the digital television provider’s suggestions are “short of the letter and spirit of current legislation”.

In Sky’s submission according to the Telegraph, the satellite broadcaster was going to offer a yellow button on its home page in order to give viewers access to the local digital television channel, but would not feature the new digital TV channel until slot 17 and is proposing to move it to slot 24 in the summer when it plans to change its electronic program guide.

The placement of digital television channels on the electronic program guide can be very important to digital television broadcasters, recently music channel MTV moved from the 35th to 26th slot and more than doubled its audience.  Digital television channel placement can also have a bearing on how much broadcasters charge for advertising.

In a statement from Sky, they said “We’ve created a strong set of proposals that will offer local TV providers the opportunity to reach millions of Sky homes. We’re now engaged in a constructive dialogue with Ofcom about how these proposals can help support their plans for local TV.”

Compare Sky television services using our Digital TV Selector comparison service or call our team of experts on 0800 840 4942 for free and impartial advice on digital television packages and we can even help you to sign up to your chosen deal!

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BT announces growth across BT Vision service

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Jane Stott

Television, broadband and phone provider BT has announced its Q1 results for 2012 which has revealed that the BT Vision customer base has grown to 700,000.

BT the triple play bundle services provider has announced that its television service BT Vision has grown by 28k customers in the first quarter of 2012 to bring the total number of customers on its hybrid free to air and video on demand BT Vision serviceto 700,000.

BT Vision has added 28,000 customers to its BT Vision digital television service in the first quarter of 2012

The total number of BT Vision customers now stands at 700,000

The latest figures represent the best customer growth ever for the telecommunications company, though this has been led primarily by its broadband and telephony services.  The latest growth in customer numbers represents an increase of 23 per cent in the quarter.

The growth in BT Vision television subscribers represents a similar increase to those of BT’s competitors Sky and Virgin Media who also recently announced a massive growth in numbers with some of the best results in a quarter.  Despite all of its troubles Sky announced that it had grown its subscriber base by 78,000 customers in the quarter, whilst Virgin Media reported its revenue has exceeded £1bn.

Meanwhile BT Vision has been attempting to draw in customers with a number or brand new content deals, as it announced brand new partnerships with both Miramax and UKTV to provide exclusive on demand content to BT Vision viewers.  As a result of the deal to UKTV, brand new digital TV channels were also added to the BT Vision service including GOLD, Alibi, and Watch.

BT’s fibre optic service BT Infinity also contributed to the strong results adding 131,000 brand new customers to the superfast broadband service in the quarter, with the BT Infinity customer base now sitting at a total of 550,000 customers.

BT CEO Ian Livingstone said “We have made progress again this year delivering for all our stakeholders, but we know there is more to do.”

Compare BT Vision deals using our comparison service at Digital TV Selector or call our team of experts for free on 0800 840 4942 today for free and impartial advice on the best deals that are available in your area.

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Premier League rights up for grabs

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Ben Hargreaves

Major digital television broadcasters are lining up to take a stake in the lucrative Premier League football rights which are set to be fought out between several different broadcasters.

Sports broadcastersare lining up to battle it out and take the English Premier League football UK television rights for the 2013 – 2016 seasons after an Invitation to Tender was issued for all interested parties to submit a bid.

The Premier League TV rights are up for grabs with several digital TV sports broadcasters set to bid for rights including Sky Sports, ESPN and Al Jazeera

Several digital TV broadcasters are believed to be set to bid for the rights.

A total of 154 games are set to be televised on digital television between the 2013 – 2016 seasons which is an increase of 16 on the current schedule which is in place.  The extra 16 games have become available following advice from the police to shift the games away from their regular 3pm kick off times.

As per previous years, the 154 games will be split into a total of seven packages, with highlights protected for free to air broadcast via the BBC Match of the Day program.  Five of the new packages will contain a total of 26 matches and two will contain 16 packages, with no one digital television broadcaster allowed to purchase more than 116 games.

The current deals in place are estimated to be worth around £1.6bn with Sky holding the majority of rights through its Sky Sports channels, and the other rights currently with Disney owned sports broadcaster ESPN.

It is expected that both Sky Sports and ESPN will again be bidding for the rights to the English Premier League packages, whilst a number of new players have also emerged who may also be interested in the rights including heavy rumoured interest from the Arabic News network Al Jazeera, and the possibility that technology companies such as Google and Apple potentially bidding for the packages.

In addition to the live Premier League rights there are also rights which are available for ‘near live’ packages which would contain 226 games which could potentially be viewed on demand, and it is believed that Google and Apple may be more interested in these packages.

In a short statement speaking of the tendering process and the increase of fixtures in the new packages, the Premier League said “This creates a more attractive and compelling offering for both broadcasters and fans; whilst allowing the continued protection of the Saturday 3pm ‘closed window’ and minimising further displacement of Premier League fixtures.”

Compare the best bundles for sports channels and Premier League football using our comparison service at Digital TV Selector or call our impartial team of experts for free advice on 0800 840 4942 and help in finding and signing up to the best package for you!

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Compare Virgin Media and save up to £379.95

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Jane Stott

Virgin Media have launched a new set of deals which mean that you can make mega savings on the monthly cost and get a bill credit of up to £60 when you compare Virgin Media and sign up before the 24th May.

If you compare Virgin Media and sign up to a great package from the cable TV company in May you can make savings of up to £244.95 on Virgin Media’s Premiere collection, and get a credit of £60 if you take a collection from Virgin Media of TV, broadband and phone.

Virgin Media is offering a £60 credit for all people that sign up to a collection and also get a TiVo set top box when you compare Virgin Media

Subscribers can make massive savings when they compare and sign up to a collection from Virgin Media in May

In addition to the £60 credit on triple collections from Virgin Media, you can also get 6 months half price on selected packages when you compare Virgin Media and sign up to a collection from the cable television operator.

Virgin Media’s television packages also come with a state of the art Virgin Media TiVo set top box which not only gives you a massive range of channels in high definition, but if you compare Virgin Media collections and sign up to a deal you can get superfast broadband of up to 100Mb, and a great phone service which gives you the choice of free weekend, evening and weekend or anytime calls.

Virgin Media TV services, with the TiVo set top box also include a great range of digital television channels including Sky1, Sky Living and the Discovery Channel.  You can even get great movies and sports channels in the form of Sky Movies and Sky Sports, and Virgin Media even offer a great range of on demand content too.

So make sure you compare Virgin Media and sign up to a collection to Virgin Media today to take advantage of these great offers.

Compare Virgin Media with our Digital TV Selector comparison service or call our team of experts on 0800 840 4942 today to find the best Virgin Media collection for your requirements.  Our experts can even help you to book your installation.

Collection Name

Monthly Cost

Set Up and Offers

Savings

  
Essential Collection

  • 75 digital TV channels
  • 6 HD channels
  • 500GB TiVo Box
  • Up to 30Mb speed broadband
  • Free weekend calls

£12.50 for 6 months, then £25 thereafter

(plus £13.90 line rental payable to Virgin Media)

Free installation

£60 credit

£184.95 off the full price

Buy from Virgin Media

Or call 0800 840 4942
Premiere Collection

  • 175 digital TV channels
  • 23 HD channels
  • 500GB TiVo box
  • Extra HD box in another room
  • Up to 60Mb speed broadband
  • Free weekend calls

£22.50 for 6 months, then £45 thereafter

(plus £13.90 line rental payable to Virgin Media)

Free installation

£60 credit

£244.95 off the full price

Buy from Virgin Media

Or call 0800 840 4942
VIP Collection

  • 205 digital TV channels
  • 36 HD channels
  • 1TB TiVo box
  • Extra HD box for another room
  • Sky Sports and Sky Movies
  • Up to 100Mb speed broadband
  • Free anytime calls

£45 for 6 months, then £90 thereafter

(plus £13.90 line rental payable to Virgin Media)

Free installation

£60 credit

Free Spotify Premium Music streaming service for 3 months

£379.95 off the full price

Buy from Virgin Media

Or call 0800 840 4942

Compare Virgin Media deals using our comparison service at Digital TV Selector or give us a call on 0800 840 4942 and we can help you find the cheapest Virgin Media deals and even help you to book your installation!

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TV and Movies streaming service Now TV prepared for launch

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Ben Hargreaves

Digital television broadcaster Sky has begun its preparation for the launch of the TV and Movies streaming service Now TV by acquiring Acetrax.

Now TV the brand new TV and movies streaming service from digital television provider Sky has been prepared for launch following the satellite televisioncompanies acquisition of Acetrax the European video on demand content provider to connected TV’s.

Now TV is the TV and movies streaming service from Sky which is set to be launched in 2012

Sky could begin to integrate Acetrax into its new Now TV service which is due to launch this year

Following the release of Sky’s Q1 results yesterday, Sky said that the acquisition of Acetrax would “further strengthen relationships with connected device manufacturers and content providers”.

Acetrax was founded in 2006, and the Zurich based company offers a range of movies on demand to various digital television manufacturers including Samsung, LG, Toshiba, and Panasonic, the company estimates that its video on demand content app will be available to 60m connected TV’s by 2015.

It is believed that Sky will integrate Acetrax into its brand new TV and Movies streaming service Now TV which is due to launch in the first half of 2012, and Sky is also looking to expand its Now TV to other broadband connected devices and Smart TV’s.

Ultimately Sky hopes that its brand new TV and movie streaming service Now TV will appeal to people who have avoided signing up to a subscription based digital television service, and there are also plans to show live sporting coverage through Now TV in addition to TV and movies.

A spokesperson for Sky said “The growth of broadband-connected devices is opening up new opportunities to retail our content directly to additional consumers, and this service will sit alongside our current subscription pay TV service and be aimed at the 13 million UK households who do not currently subscribe to pay TV,”

“NOW TV will provide instant access to some of our most popular content with no dish and no contract required, and will be available on a wide range of devices.

“The service will initially offer access to our movie content but will soon expand to include sport and entertainment, with customers able to pay monthly or on a simple pay-as-you-go-basis.”

“This will be a new way for us to appeal to consumers who love great content but may not want the full Sky service, while offering us another new opportunity for customer growth.”

Compare digital TV packages with video on demand features using our comparison service at Digital TV Selector or call our team of experts on 0800 840 4942 for free and impartial advice on the cheapest digital TV deals available!

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Sky reports massive Q1 growth

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Jane Stott

Satellite broadcaster BSkyB has posted a record increase in customer numbers and an increase in profits as it seeks to distance itself from the NewsCorp investigation.

BSkyB have announced that Sky the satellite broadcasting company added 78,000 new customers to its existing subscriber base in the first 3 months of 2012 bringing its total number of subscribers to 10.55m.  Approximately 3.2m subscribers now take a triple play bundle(TV, Broadband and Phone)  from the satellite television broadcaster, representing an increase of 24% year on year.

Sky has posted massive results for Q1 2012 with around 15,000 new customers taking a TV service in Q1 of 2012

Sky has posted massive results despite the bad publicity that it has received due to the NewsCorp investigation

Around 15,000 customers took a digital television service from Sky, whilst the total number of customers signed up to Sky+ HD is now 4.22m, while 63,000 customers signed up to a standalone broadband service from Sky bringing the total base of broadband customers to 3.86m.

Despite the cloud of the recent NewsCorp and Murdoch investigations, Sky’s company profits in the nine months to the end of March was £939m up 25% on the same period last year.  Revenue for Sky television was £5.08bn over nine months whilst average rate per user stood at £546, up £9 on the previous period.

Sky is currently being investigated by the telecoms regulator Ofcom to find out if the digital television provider is ‘fit and proper’ to hold its broadcasting licences.

In a call with Analysts today, Sky chief executive Jeremy Darroch said “I know many of you will be keen to hear our views on Ofcom’s assessment of whether Sky is fit and proper to hold its broadcasting licences.”

This process has been on-going since last year and, as you would expect, Ofcom are gathering information to help them in their review. There is no timetable but we will stay in close contact with Ofcom as the process continues.”

“In the meantime, I would emphasise that it’s important to remember that Sky and News Corporation are separate companies. We believe that Sky’s track record as a broadcaster is the most important factor in determining our fitness to hold a licence.”

Moving onto the results Darroch said that Sky had made a “good start” to 2012, before adding “The decision to focus our marketing on home communications has paid off with our fastest quarter of growth since launch and confirmation that Sky is now Britain’s favourite triple-play provider,”

“Already in 2012, we’ve launched an entirely new channel dedicated to Formula 1, given millions of households access to a huge choice of on demand TV and made our market-leading broadband service even better with the launch of our fibre products and free out-of-home WiFi.”

“Looking ahead, we will continue to improve our service for all Sky customers as we believe this is the best way to build a larger business and continue to increase returns for shareholders.”

Compare Sky television packages by using our comparison service at Digital TV Selector or call our team of experts on 0800 840 4942 who can help you find the best Sky television package for your needs and even help you to get installed!

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Sky Entertainment gains new director from Sky 1

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Ben Hargreaves

Sky has promoted Stuart Murphy from his role as controller at digital television channel Sky1 to the new director of Sky Entertainment channels.

Satellite television broadcaster Sky has announced that Stuart Murphy will be the new director of Sky Entertainment channels following his role as controller at popular digital television entertainment channel Sky1.

Sky1HD will form one of the digital television channels which Murphy will oversee along with Sky Atlantic

Murphy had great success in transforming Sky1 HD's into a major entertainment brand

Murphy will retain his existing role as controller at the popular digital television entertainment channel Sky1, but he will now also formulate the on-going strategy for the range of Sky Entertainment channels including Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts, Sky Living and Sky1.

Each of the existing controllers for each of the channels will directly report into Murphy who in turn will report to the managing director of entertainment, news and broadcast operations Sophie Turner Laing.

In recent times digital television provider Sky has said that it will increase its investment in home grown programming by 50% to £600m by 2014, and there are a number of new programs set to be launched on the range of Sky digital television channels including ‘Kingdom of Plants’ which is a 3D documentary from Sir David Attenborough.

Murphy was excited to learn of his promotion to director of Sky Entertainment Channels saying “Getting Sky1 HD to where we are today was a real team effort and I can’t wait to work with Sophie, the channel heads, the commissioning heads and the indie community to look at how we take the entertainment channels to the next phase.”

Whilst Sophie Turner Laing said “Over the past three years, under Stuart’s leadership, we have seen Sky1 become a true destination channel, offering our customers some of the finest drama, comedy and entertainment programmes on television at the moment.”

She added “I have no doubt that in his new role, he’ll bring the same vision and drive to the rest of the portfolio, working with the team to look at the next steps for the rest of our first class entertainment channels.”

Compare all of the entertainment channels on all digital television packages using our comparison service at Digital TV Selector or call our team of experts for free and impartial advice on 0800 840 4942 today who can help you find and purchase the best deal!

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Apple TV rumoured to be nearing movies deal

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Jane Stott

Apple the electronics manufacturer is reportedly in talks with EPIX to offer movies on its Apple TV streaming service.

Apple is reportedly close to signing up to a deal with EPIX which will see its movies service on all Apple TV set top boxes in the near future meaning that users of the streaming service will be able to access a wider range of movies than what is currently offered from the Apple TV service.Apple has launched its steaming service which has Netflix built into it

Currently Apple TV offers a number of streaming services including YouTube, Vimeo, sports related content and Netflix which is likely to be affected the most by any potential tie up between Apple and EPIX on the Apple TV streaming service.

According to news agency Reuters EPIX content would be available on the Apple TV set top box which currently retails in the US and UK, and potentially could be rolled out to other Apple devices included the Apple TV which is rumoured to be launching in the near future.

EPIX currently has deals in place with several major Hollywood film studios including Lionsgate, MGM, and Paramount, the company currently has a deal in place with TV and movie streaming service Netflix, which gives Netflix exclusivity on a number of major film titles.  However the current deal is up for renewal in September, and if EPIX does decide to do a deal with Apple, Netflix could lose a number of rights.

The report from Reuters states that talks are still in the ‘preliminary’ stage and that there is still a great deal of negotiation to be done before a deal is put in place.  It is believed that Netflix currently pays EPIX around $200m for its current exclusivity deal.

Any deal with EPIX could also be moved onto Apple’s other platforms including iPhone, iPad, and iPod with content integrated with its iTunes store.

Compare digital TV movie packages using our comparison service at Digital TV Selector or call our team of dedicated experts on 0800 840 4942 today for free and impartial advice on signing up to the best digital TV movie packages.

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