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Free Services
I don’t want to pay anything other than my licence fee for television. What will happen to me when analogue is switched off?
What are the free to air digital channels? Updated 13/2/02
Can I watch RTE, BBC, ITV etc. services on SkyDigital in the Republic? New 26/3/01
I live in Northern Ireland. Can I recieve Southern services on digital? New 8/3/01
I currently recieve Welsh channels. What will happen to me when I convert to digital? Updated 26/3/01
What is the story with BBC Northern Ireland programmes on digital? Updated 13/2/02
What happened to UTV2? New 13/2/02

FREE SERVICES:
I don’t want to pay anything other than my licence fee for television. What will happen to me when analogue is switched off?
There are six-ten years to go before switch off of analogue, so you have plenty of time to wait for equipment prices to drop and unsubsidised set-top become available for about £100, and iDTVs for the price of normal TVs. The typical life of a TV set is about seven or eight years – you can wait for the next time your replace your TV set, then make your next TV a digital TV. Even in eight years time analogue services should still be on air (albeit near winding down). You then will be able to receive the free to air digital channels, and pay nothing but your licence fee.

What are the free-to-air digital channels?
The FTA digital channels are channels which, on DTT or DSat, you don’t have to subscribe to any pay services to watch. On SkyDigital whether you live in the Republic or North, there are seven services you will be to receive without a viewing card – Sky News, CNN, ITN News Channel, BBC PARLIAMENT, QVC, Shop!, and TV Travelshop.
In the North, all viewers will be able to receive BBC ONE NI, BBC TWO, UTV Channel 4 and Channel 5 whatever platform you subscribe to. There will also be three new channels from the BBC – BBC CHOICE, BBC NEWS 24, and BBC FOUR, as well as occasionally Channel 4 Extra, a part-time sport channel. On SkyDigital there is also S4C and S4C2 (only good if you speak Welsh!!!). On DTT and Dcab, you will also be able to receive ITV2 (This is a pay channel on DSat). To receive BBC, C4, and C5 free to air channels on Sky Digital without a subscription, you will need a viewing card from the BBC. This is only obtainable in Northern Ireland, however if you live in the Republic see the next question.
In the Republic, the Broadcasting Act 2001 provides that RTE can have one DTT multiplex and TV3 and Telifis na Gaelige (TG4) will share a DTT multiplex. As well as simulcasts of RTE ONE, N2, TV3, and TG4, there will be at least four new free to air services. RTE propose to run a 24-hour News, Sport, and Information service, codenamed Ireland Today, an Arts, Culture, Entertainment, and education service known as Eolais, the Knowledge Channel, and a fast-paced music-based youth service, called ZAP@TV. Plans for the news channel are the most advanced and this service is due to launch in 2003. Telifis na Gaelige is charged with Parliamentary broadcasting under the Bill, and will probably run a public-service Parliamentary Channel. TV3's plans for its multiplex are unknown, and it is possible that its multiplex will be added to the pay-tv muxes. The Broadcasting Act 2002 provides that the Minister for Culture may direct the DTT company to dedicate "a multiplex for the reception of TV services available throughout the whole of Northern Ireland", ie, BBC ONE, BBC TWO, ITV UTV, Channel 4, and Channel 5. It also directs that Digital Cable companies must carry all FTA services of RTE, TV3, and Telifis na Gaelige, and digital MMDS companies must carry all FTA services of TV3.
Of course, on Cable and MMDS, no channels are really free and you have to pay the Basic Service costs to receive free to air Digital Channels. All cable viewers in the Republic will recieve RTE ONE, N2, TV3, TG4, BBC ONE Northern Ireland, BBC TWO, ITV UTV, Channel 4, Sky One, and Sky News as part of their basic package, as well as any future RTE services as part of your licence fee. All MMDS viewers will recieve the above services too, as well as any future TV3 services - carrige of new RTE and TnaG services is not compulsory on MMDS but is likely to happen anyway, as Chorus intends to keep the cable & MMDS lineup standardised for now
See my Irish Digital Channels FAQ for details on BBC CHOICE and UTV2.

Can I watch RTE, BBC, ITV, Channel 4 etc. services on SkyDigital in the Republic?
Unfortunately, you are not able to watch these channels free-to-air in the Republic - other than BBC PARLIAMENT and S4C-2. However Sky and the various broadcasters are in negiotations to provide these channels as part of the Family Pack instead. In late March 2001, negiotations between the BBC and Sky were concluded and BBC ONE Northern Ireland, BBC TWO Northern Ireland, and BBC TEXT are now available. Negotiations with UTV and TV3 are ongoing and hope to be concluded shortly.
RTE and TV3 became available in April 2002 to Family Pack viewers on EPG # 101-104.

I live in Northern Ireland. Will I be able to recieve Southern services on digital?
Currently the only platform which you can recieve RTE channels on digital in Northern Ireland is NTL Digitalplus. However there is a problem. Oweing to objections from Channel 5 Broadcasting, Home and Away cannot be shown by NTL in the North. The message opposite appears during this time (thanks to Mike McGonagle for the picture).
On SkyDigital, Tara Television Limited has now closed down, however as part of the deal to bring RTE to Sky Digital, terms of carrige were agreed for Northern Ireland also. However RTE is in dispute with the relevant copyright agencies over programme rights and until this is resolved, then the channels will not be available there..
As for DTT viewers, it was a long-term aim of the Irish and British Governments that there should be "exchange" of the core terrestrial channels on DTT. However with all frequencies allocated on DTT, it is highly unlikely that RTE services will appear on DTT in the North until after analogue switch-off. This contrasts with the South, where BBC and ITV services are likely to be available from day one.

I currently recieve Welsh channels. What will happen to me when I convert to digital?
If you are one of the few currently recieving BBC ONE Wales, BBC TWO Wales, ITV HTV Wales, and S4C, either off-air, or in an ex-CMI region, you will be migrated over to the Irish versions of these channels - BBC ONE Northern Ireland, BBC TWO Northern Ireland, ITV UTV, and Channel 4 (Irish Adverts) - when you go digital. The plan is that the Irish variations will be available to anyone in the Republic when digital is fully introduced. (This may not apply to those subscribing to proposed community MMDS systems, such as SCTV Digital, or smaller cable companies at first however). If you have SkyDigital, you can still watch S4C-2 (if you really want to!!!).

What is the story with BBC Northern Ireland programmes on digital?
When digital first launched, there were no Newsline bullitens on BBC ONE or BBC TWO. Viewers recieved UK Today, a national news magazine programme simular to RTE's Nationwide (or, more precisely, to the original BBC programme of the same name). However BBC ONE Northern Ireland and BBC 2NI are now being broadcast intact on digital on all platforms, Newsline included. UK Today has now ended.

Digital viewers of BBC TWO Northern Ireland have recieved a new peak-time service - BBC 2NI - containing the additional programming from the former service BBC CHOICE Northern Ireland, from Autumn 2001. This runs from 6:00pm to midnight each evening. (BBC Wales digital viewers get BBC 2W). If you live in Great Britain and have Digital Satellite, you can see this service on Digital Satellite.

What is happening to the BBC's new services over the next few months?
The BBC has signaled its intention to move to a four channel strategy as digital take up increases in the UK. As the first step in this strategy, BBC CHOICE (on a future date subject to UK Government approval) and BBC KNOWLEDGE (on March 4th 2002) are being closed down and will be replaced by BBC THREE, a youth station, and BBC FOUR, an arts and high culture channel. BBC WORLD will provide international news bulittens to BBC FOUR. During the day, children's programmes for toddlers (Cbeebies) will be broadcast on BBC CHOICE/THREE and older children's programmes (CBBC DIGITAL) on BBC FOUR.
As digital take-up increases, the comedy and imported youth programmes currently on BBC TWO will move accross to BBC THREE and arts programmes from BBC ONE will move to BBC FOUR. BBC ONE will become a pure entertainment channel and BBC TWO a current affairs and "older persons" channel. Don't worry, this will be a gradual move, a full four-channel strategy will not kick in until the majority of the UK population have digital. (This will however eventually affect people in the Republic of Ireland where there are currently no plans by any provider for BBC THREE and BBC FOUR to be made available. Hopefully this situation will change...)

What happened to UTV2?
UTV 2 was a general entertainment channel run by UTV which provided reruns of UTV and pre-1993 Ulster Television programming and some programming from the English ITV2 service. As part of a deal in January 2002, UTV2 was closed down and ITV2 is now broadcast on the DTT, DSat and DCab platforms in Northern Ireland.