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Channel Five in the UK to broadcast HDTV in 2010
Only on DTT but deal to bring Channel Five in to the HD fold has been done
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TV viewers should be able to watch Channel 5's programmes in high definition (HD) via an aerial after Ofcom announced that it has made a provisional decision to reserve capacity in principal to the broadcaster, to provide new HD services on digital terrestrial television (DTT) from 2010.
Ofcom's decision to award a HD licence to Channel 5 is subject to it resolving certain key criteria related to its application. These must be resolved by the 31 December 2009.
Today's announcement follows a tender process which attracted two bids; one from Channel 5 and the second from Channel 4 and Welsh-language broadcaster S4C. Ofcom considered that both bids were of high quality but that after careful consideration decided that the application from Channel 5 fulfilled the various criteria more fully than the application from Channel 4 and S4C.
This decision should mean that Channel 5 will join the other public service broadcasters, the BBC, the Channel 3 licensees (ITV, stv and UTV), and Channel 4 and S4C, in launching four HD services on DTT in total.
In April 2008, Ofcom announced that it would instigate the reorganisation of the DTT platform to allow the broadcasters to free-up capacity in order to enable the upgrade of one Multiplex to new and more efficient technologies, to offer new HD services.
The initial first three HD services are expected to begin with the Granada region from late 2009. The rest of the UK will follow as each region switches to digital with nationwide coverage by 2012.
Ofcom is also talking to the BBC with a view to allowing HD services to be launched in other parts of the UK in advance of this timetable by the use of temporary frequency assignments at a number of main transmission sites.
To access these new HD services on DTT, viewers will need a HD ready TV set and a HD ready set-top box. By the end of the first quarter of 2009, the number of households with access to a HD service via cable and satellite rose to an all time high, with over 1.8 million in total.
BEST OF FIVE IN HD
Channel 5's application initially involves simulcasting its main public services channel programmes at peak time on HD. This means that popular programmes such as The Gadget Show, UEFA Europa League, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and blockbuster movie premiers could become available in HD from late 2010.
In the future, Channel 5 predicts sharing its HD channel with another broadcaster during daytime hours and supplying other services, such as Video on Demand in HD overnight. Ends
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