Hello all you avid TV newsletter readers. Sorry we did not publish a newsletter in December but we had a family bereavement just as the newsletter was to be written and had to rush back to the UK. With all the arrangements required we just missed the publisher’s deadline but here we are as usual ................. missing the deadline we did not have the opportunity to wish all our readers and clients a very Merry Christmas but here let us wish you all a Happy New Year and fabulous 2008. You know that happiness is the most important function in our lives - health is important, wealth is important, but if you are not happy then ........ there is no point in the other two. Make 2008 your happiest year yet!!! and it is up to YOU to make it happy.
TV news ................ Well there is not much in the way of channel news – even after two months! I think most operators get all their offerings in line well before the festive season hoping to catch your viewings during the two week period with advertisers determined to get your money. They all hope you will be one of the shoppers in those centres who are interviewed and say you watched their channel and thus statistically they have xxx million viewers – well at least here in Spain we don’t get that hassle!
The big TV news has to be the launch of “FREESAT”. There is now a lot more information about this system, much of it on their website www.freesat.co.uk – more than 80 channels in glorious digital quality and run by a BBC/ITV joint venture - with other investors involved. They have not listed the channels yet and I am sure 60 will be shopping/travel/dating etc etc. However, that aside, it is quite an exciting development, although we are still not sure it will be available down here. It will be transmitted from the ASTRA 28.2 and 28.5 satellite, so unless they have found a way to further tighten the beam, we should all be able to get it, but still on those large dishes. It will require a digibox - presumably of the systems making, but there will be a range of PVR boxes as well. (Personal video recorders much like SKY+ but not requiring the sky subscription and, importantly, so much easier to use than standard video recorders.) Any of you familiar with “FREEVIEW” in the UK will know what to expect as ‘FREESAT” will be very similar.
The one unanswered question is “will BBC and ITV still be available on the SKY satellite platform”? I expect it will as there are no other announcements and I really wonder if SKY would survive without the mainstream UK TV channels on its listing. The other thing is will channel 4 and 5 be part of “FREESAT’? They are contractually tied to SKY until late 2008 .................. watch this space for more information over the next months.
Article sponsored by RAINBOW SATELLITES – call Alan or Matt for free friendly advice on all aspects of UK TV availability. We install in the whole of the Murcia Region. Telephone (0034) 686 358 475 or email rainbowsats@terra.es Look at our website Rainbow Sats for some good basic information.