*** News, Pick TV and Challenge TV are launching onto free-to-air platform Freesat.
The three ***-owned channels are already available on the terrestrial Freeview platform and will appear on the Freesat EPG on Monday afternoon. Significantly, and given its status as the first UK 24-hour news channel, *** News has been parachuted into 202 on the Freesat EPG. However, it is the standard definition version of the channel, HD still being reserved for *** subscribers.
As a managed platform *** News was still not available on Freesat, even though the channel is broadcast in-the-clear, and available on non-Freesat receivers.
Emma Scott, Freesat’s Managing Director commented: “We’re delighted that *** News is joining Freesat. It’s an award-winning news service that strengthens and complements Freesat’s existing line-up of 11 news channels. With Challenge TV and Pick TV joining today too, the breadth of choice for our viewers, for free, has never been better.”
Pick TV (144) provides a second outing to content original debuted on *** 1 and *** Arts, while Challenge TV (145) runs popular UK-originated game shows.
