This week the BBC and ITV have jointly announced their new satellite service – free in the sense that there’s no monthly fee after you’ve paid for the kit required and the installation. It will be called FreeSat (very similar to Freesat from Sky, more comparisons later) and will initially offer 80 channels with the promise of 200 by the end of the year, all for an installation fee of about £80 and purchase of either a standard box for around £49 or an HD box for more like £120.
The initial channels on offer will include all the offerings from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 – not 5 yet but we are told that is just a contract-sorting formality away – and if you opt for the HD box (and have an HD ready TV) you’ll be able to view HD programmes from ITV and the BBC. BSkyB are not too happy because ITV have decided to make their HD TV output exclusive to the new FreeSat service rather than giving it to Sky customers as well, but Sky customers will be able to use their existing dish to power a FreeSat box on a second TV.
So what kind of programmes are going to feature? As you’d expect, the big crowd pleasers. BBC output will include Strictly Come Dancing, Gavin and Stacey, Hustle and Wimbledon, as well as more obscure arts and music, whereas ITV will start with FA Cup and Champions League matches and drama like Kingdom, with HD movies and shows like The X-Factor appearing as soon as they can.
This could be good for you if you are unable to receive Freeview, or you want to get some HD channels without paying a monthly fee.