Freesat Launches in the U.K.

LONDON, May 7: The BBC and
ITV have rolled out their joint venture Freesat, a free digital satellite service
reaching 98 percent of households in the U.K.

Launched yesterday,
Freesat has 80-plus free digital channels spanning television, radio and
interactive—plus high-definition services from the BBC and ITV. The
service has no subscription fee and no contract. The only requirement to
receive it is a one-off payment for equipment. Freesat will have three
different types of receivers: a standard-definition box, an HD box and an HD
integrated digital TV with Freesat built-in (IDTV).

Freesat's initial channel
lineup includes BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four; ITV1, ITV2, ITV3 and
ITV4; Channel 4, E4, More4 and Film4; the news channels BBC News and Al-Jazeera
English; the children's channels CBBC, CBeebies and CiTV; music channels
Chartshow TV and The Vault; interactivity from BBCi; and digital radio. BBC HD
is currently available on Freesat, with ITV HD launching exclusively on the
service soon afterwards. Freesat’s channel lineup will increase each month,
with up to 200 channels on air by the end of the year.

Michael Grade, the
executive chairman of ITV, said: "The launch of Freesat is the final piece
in the digital jigsaw and will ensure that all viewers in the U.K. have access
to free-to-air digital and high-definition television. We will launch our HD
service with an unrivalled lineup of premium football including the FA Cup,
England internationals and UEFA Champions League from next season. Now everyone
in the U.K. can experience the benefits of digital television: more choice of
channels, interactivity and the extraordinary picture quality of HD."

Mark
Thompson, the director-general of the BBC, added: "With the launch of
Freesat, all the BBC's digital channels, including BBC HD, will now be
available to all license-fee payers wherever they live and however they choose
to access them. This means they will have yet another way to watch a fantastic
range of BBC output, from landmark dramas and world-class documentaries to
national events and live sport."

—By Irene Lew