BBC Two HD channel goes live, replacing BBC HD
UPDATE: BBC Two HD is now live, having launched this morning at 6am. The channel has replaced the existing BBC HD channel, leaving us with BBC One HD and BBC Two HD channels.
The BBC has confirmed the BBC Two channel numbers on Freeview/YouView, Freesat, Sky, Virgin and BT Vision.
The final channel numbers are listed below:
BBC ONE HD
Freeview HD / You View 101
Sky HD 141
Virgin Media 108
Freesat HD 108
BT Vision+851
BBC TWO HD
Freeview HD / You View 102
Sky HD 142
Virgin Media 187
Freesat HD 109
BT Vision+ 852
BBC ALBA will also move to 143 on Sky so that it is grouped with other BBC channels.
Published 19.02.13
The BBC announced this morning that it will launch a dedicated BBC Two HD channel at 6am on March 26th.
BBC Two HD will replace the existing BBC HD channel (launched in 2007) and will be available subscription-free on all digital television platforms offering high-definition broadcasts. That means viewers will be able to watch BBC 2 HD on Freeview HD/YouView (102), Freesat (109), BT Vision (852), Sky HD (169) and Virgin Media (187).
The BBC Two HD channel will be a simulcast network version of the BBC Two schedule with a raft of new programmes available in HD for the frst time. These will include Paul Hollywood - Bread, The Fall, Science Britannica and Keeping Britain Alive.
Janice Hadlow, Controller of BBC Two, says: "The launch of BBC Two HD will allow us to showcase more of our programmes at their very best."
However, the switch to BBC Two HD means no more programmes from BBC3 and BBC4 will be broadcast in high definition, which will disappoint some viewers, particularly fans of European drama on BBC4. The decision was made in 2011 as part of a cost-cutting exercise at the BBC.
"We are currently evaluating options for extending our HD channel portfolio, but this is subject to financial and regulatory [BBC Trust] approval," says a BBC spokesperson. "This is in light of a number of constraints including financial and capacity limitations."
BBC One HD, launched in November 2010, will continue as a separate channel.
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Comments
@Dave54321
How do you know they are rubbish if you have never contributed a penny, presumably not buying a TV license.
Unless you have been watching without. But you are wrong, very wrong. The BBC produce some excellent programmes.
Now that BBC1 HD has become regionalised, ie, i now get BBC 1 Wales HD, wouldn't it have been better to put the HD version at position 101 in the Sky Channel listing.
Much easier to have all HD channels together at the top of the listings, than having to remember all of the different channel numbers.
Since I have never contributed a penny to BBC funding, it can fund its rubbish channels however it likes as far as I'm concerned.
Pretty sure all those rubbish channels that have paid vast amounts of money for the right to broadcast/EPG inclusion would disagree.
Bandwidth or not, the BBC can't afford to broadcast all its channels in HD...
As for a sports channel from BBC/ITV, never gonna happen given the costs of sports rights.
hear,hear! excellent idea. this was my reply to ravensburgers comments!
what i should like to see both on itv and bbc is a channel for sport , and stop messing with normal programs to put it on , not every one likes football
There would be plenty of room to transmit all the BBC channels in HD if we got rid of all that rubbish that cluters the higher numbers. All those shopping channels for instance. The internet has much more bandwidth available for trhings like that
To clarify the point about Sky charging for HD - their HD Pack provides access to the HD versions of the subscription channels. The free-to-air BBC 1 HD, BBC HD, itv 1 HD, Channel 4 HD & Channel 5 HD can be viewed on Sky without the HD Pack.
We have had HD for a decade now, why is it taking so long to convert our channels to HD when the price of HD equipment has fallen so dramatically in recent years. Almost everything is filmed in HD, especially programmes for oversea sales, likewise those that we import.
Worse still the whilst BBC, ITV and even VIRGIN on non SKY channels offer HD free, SKY charge £10.25 per month.
The COP states that the 5 main PSB channels are given 'appropriate prominence' i.e the first 5 slots.
In France, there is exactly the same limitation (the first 7 channels are reserved to the formerly analogue ones, even though two of them were on a timeshare in their analogue version), yet, it works so that the SD and HD simulcasts are automatically swapped (i.e. TF1 is normally channel 1, and TF1 HD is normally number 51, but if you have a HD Tuner, it will automatically put TF1 HD on channel 1, and SD on channel 51).
In the end, it is a simulcast, so this reason does not apply. The only reason I can see, is that BBC HD is made of mix of non BBC1 programmes, and thus cannot replace BBC2. After BBC2 HD goes on air, it shouldn't be an issue any more. The other reason I can see is that some local BBC stations may not be able to provide local HD contents, as higlighted by a former comment.
Yet, the regular channel reshuffle on Freview is really annoying... and it's apparently far from being finished!
Daveh75 - noted re the "five main channel", but I imagine that, of those that actually use freesat, the HD variant is accessible and for them, is the "main" channel. You can customise your EPG to select BBC1 London and BBC2 England as the "main" 101/102 channel - why not afford this to the HD versions?
Pity they cannot find a way to get local news out in HD after the national news on BBC1. Absolutely ridiculous to have to endure the dreaded red screen and the awful accompanying sound effects. And as for losing things like Borgen in HD...I guess this is what happens when beancounters rule the roost.
The channel numbering isn't down to the platforms, but OFCOMs EPG codes of practice.
The COP states that the 5 main PSB channels are given 'appropriate prominence' i.e the first 5 slots.
in the real world, I wonder if it's too much to ask of Freesat to re-order their channels. I'm sure there's market-research on this, but how many freesat users have non HD TVs? I would be nice to have BBC1, BBC2, ITV, C4 as 101, 102, 103 and 104, rather than 108, 109, 119 and 124...
Can't believe they haven't leveraged the sustainabiltiy paradigm - they need to reach out to Generation X for some face-time to cross-pollinate from a near-box standpoint.
Pity, really: would have hoped for a bit more blue-sky envelope-pushing, going forward – subject of course to current [and future anticipated] stakeholder target aspirations.
They're possibly still reaching out to blended demographics, in order to best assess all use-case scenarios
This is in light of a number of constraints including financial and capacity limitations.
Pity, really: would have hoped for a bit more blue-sky envelope-pushing, going forward – subject of course to current [and future anticipated] stakeholder target aspirations.