TDT - Nine Spanish TV channels to close in May 2014

A total of nine Terrestrial Digital Television channels in Spain are set to close down by May 6th 2014.
This is a result of a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that cancelled out the concession of additional channels to existing broadcasters on the grounds that the concession was made without a public bid and that new operators were therefore deprived of a chance to join the market.
Channels closing down include:

• La Sexta 3. Movie-based channels with a March audience share of 1.6 percent.
• Xplora. Hardcore Pawn, in its 10th season, is the most popular program.
• Nitro. Channel airs shows such as Law And Order and The A Team.
• La Siete. Specializes in Latin American soaps.
• Nueve. Re-runs of the most successful shows aired on Telecinco and Cuatro.
• Net TV. Teleshopping.
• Veo TV.

Loss of some UK satellite TV channels in Spain for the next few weeks.

If you lose channels for the next 2 weeks at around 10-11 am for a few minutes then this is normal for this time of year.

Basically the sun is right behind the satellites, and the energy from the sun will swamp out the weaker satellite signals.

There is nothing you can do about it, as it can even affect "big dishes" also.

Rebooting the box will not help - apart from killing time until the signal returns again

It does not happen on ALL channels, as some are stronger than others.

This loss of signal happens twice a year in March and October - around the time of the equinoxes.

Some SKY TV channels move to their new European beam on Astra 2F - loss of some channels in some areas, like Canary Islands

New UK TV Satellite News:

It appears that some of the Sky PAY channels are in the process of moving from their old satellite to their new satellite.

It has been reported today some Sky PAY channels may have moved from their old satellite (Astra 2a and 2B) to their new satellite, Astra 2F.

Reports suggest that some channels have moved to the new "European beam" on 2F.

We know something is happening as people in the "extreme fringe reception areas" are reporting a loss of channels today, in areas like the Canary Islands.


Channels that are affected include:
F1 HD
Channel 5HD
Dave HD
Watch HD
Gold Comedy Central HD
Pick TV
Sky News SD
Discovery HD
Sky Sports 3 HD
Sky Sports News HD
Animal Planet HD
Nat Geo HD
Eden HD

So, what does this mean for Sky TV reception on the mainland of Spain

As the channels are moving from their old beams, which even 2.4m dishes may have struggled to receive 24/7, to a new "European beam" on Asta 2F, this may mean that some of the channels that were lost mid afternoon, may now be available 24/7...and maybe even available on 1m dishes here in the Costa Blanca / Valencia area.

UPDATE: This satellite move by Sky channels can be confirmed. In my service area, some of the channels affected were not available 24/7 even on the "big 2.4m satellite dishes". Today, some of them are fine and stable on my 80cm satellite dish. Thus confirming their move from Astra 2A North beam, to Astra 2F European Beam

Astra 2F: UK TV satellite update - loss of channels in Spain?

Astra 2F Update 07/12/2012 :

According to to the phone calls and email from worried people, Spain will lose all BBC and ITVs on the 16th December...but no-one can provide any evidence of this....or where this date of the 16th December has come from.
My view: it is probably nothing to do with BBC and ITVs.
a) It could be the date where some of the Sky channels move from their satellite (Astra 2B) onto the new Astra 2F satellite. Reception will vary as these channels may go onto the UK beam, or European beam...if Sky really want to keep expats paying and the revenue coming in, they will be on the European beam
b) It could be the date that Sky close changes to their system, so there is no disruption to TV over Xmas.
c). SES, who own and operate the satellites, specifically said that on the 4th only 5 frequencies would move from Astra 1N to the new Astra 2F, and that would complete this stage of migration. So maybe the remaining frequencies on Astra 1N that carry BBC and ITV will not move to 2F, but to the next new satellite, 2E, after it is launched Q1 2013...
d) No mention from anywhere by SES about the 16th...
No-one outside Astra and the broadcasters will know until it happens.

Still more UK TV satellite changes to come...

Despite what you may have already heard the long awaited satellite change has not happened - well not completely.

Only a handful of channels have moved satellites (Fives, C4HD, 4seven, and a few ITV1 regions).
Hence why some people may have lost reception of these channels on smaller satellite dishes.

We are still awaiting for the majority of the channels from BBC ITV C4 to move. At the moment we do not know when this will be. It could be this month, it may even be as late as April/May next year.

Astra 2F UK Satellite changes last night - potentially some loss of UK TV channels in some areas of Spain

Astra 2F UK Satellite changes last night - potentially some loss of UK TV channels in some areas of Spain

A few (not all!) channels and frequencies moved from their old satellite to the new Astra 2F satellite last night.

The channels and frequencies affected are :
10.964 H SR 22.000 FEC 5/6 (CH5/5USA/5*/Channel 5+1),
10.994 H SR 22.000 FEC 5/6 (ITV 1 Granada HD/ITV 1 Central South West SD/ITV 1 Anglia West SD/ITV 1 Meridian North SD/ITV 1 Yorkshire East SD/ITV 1+1 Yorkshire SD),
11.052 H SR 22.000 FEC 5/6 (ITV 1 Central South SD/ITV 1 Central East SD/ITV 1+1 Wales SD/ITV 1+1 Westcountry SD/ITV 1+1 Tyne Tees SD)
11.126 V SR 22.000 FEC 5/6 (Channel 4 HD/4Seven SD)

People in some areas may notice loss of these channels on smaller 80cm or 1m dishes (especially if they are not aligned properly!)

But this does not mean the other channels (BBC ITV C4s) will not be moving - it is simply a question of when!

Loss of UK TV channels for 10 minutes in the mornings on Sky and Freesat in Spain

Originally posted at: http://www.satandpcguy.com/forum/showthread.php?100573-Loss-of-UK-TV-channels-for-10-minutes-in-the-mornings


If you are losing BBC and ITV in the morning for a few minutes from 10am to 11am then this is normal.

It is a solar outage.

We are at time of the year when the sun is directly behine the UK TV Astra 2 satellites.

The suns energy swamps the signals used for UK TV in Spain.

As these signals are already weaker and hard to receive in Spain, as the sun passes behind the satellites, you can lose reception of BBC and ITV channels for a small number of minutes.

This happens twice a year, in March and October time.

Can the summer heat affect UK satellite TV signals in Spain?

Summer is here, and it can cause potential reception issue with your satellite TV reception. In fact it can also cause reception issue with your digital Spanish TV channels also, as shown by problems from last year.

Reception of UK TV by satellite is already tricky. Many UK TV channels require a "big" satellite dish, like the 2.4m Famaval satellite dishes from Portugal, as the signals that carry these UK TV channels are very weak.

An increase in heat and humidity can cause a drop in reception, as the signal is weakened by the humidity in the air.

This had a great affect on Spanish digital terrestrial TV last summer (2010). Many areas had a reduction in reception of their channels due to the heat, so many areas had to have repeater stations installed, and that relayed signals from the main mast to areas affected.

Unfortunately this "repeater" process cannot be done with UK satellite TV, and it may be a case whereby you may have to live with a early drop in signal reception and loss of channel in the hot summer....

But then, there are so many other things to go out and do in Spain on a hot summer night rather than watching Eastenders isn’t there...?







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