Ofcom Grants Five HD Slot on Freeview

LONDON: British media regulator Ofcom has awarded broadcaster Five a high-definition slot on DTT platform Freeview, it was announced today.

Ofcom has made a provisional decision to award the license to Five to launch HD services on Freeview in 2010, after also considering bids from Channel 4 and S4C. Ofcom will make its final decision once Five resolves "certain key criteria related to its application" by the end of the year. Five was awarded the license, Ofcom said, because it "fulfilled the various criteria more fully than the application from Channel 4 and S4C."

Five will initially simulcast its main channel programs at peak time in HD, such as The Gadget Show, UEFA Europa League and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, as well as kids’ fare and blockbuster movies. The service is expected to be available in late 2010. In the future, Five expects to share its HD channel with another broadcaster during daytime hours, and will supply other services, such as HD VOD, in the late-night hours.

Three Freeview slots had already been reserved for new HD service prior to today’s announcement. One of those slots is for ITV—together with UTV, stv and Channel TV—while the other has gone jointly to Channel 4 and S4C.

Phillip Graf, the chairman of Ofcom’s Content Board, said: "Channel 5 now joins the other public-service broadcasters in providing new services for viewers. Audience research tells us that it is just the kind of material people want to see. This means more choice for TV viewers who will be able to watch in high definition some of the very best of British programming, free to air through their television aerials.

Five’s director of strategy, Charles Constable, responded to the announcement, noting: “Five is pleased to be awarded the fourth DTT HD stream so Freeview viewers can enjoy the best of our programs in high-definition format. We look forward to resolving outstanding issues with Ofcom so our HD service can join those from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 in due course.”