Freeview channels thread

Paramount Network+1 still hasn't broadcast anything since launching on the Freeview EPG, with still no signs on when it may start judging by the listings still just stating 'Coming soon'.

How long can they squat on the EPG without broadcasting before being kicked off?

8 weeks according to schedule 1 of this document: https://www.freeview.co.uk/sites/default/files/2019-09/Digital-UK-LCN-Policy-v6.pdf

Well it will be 8 weeks on the 3rd March that 5Spike closed and Paramount+1 began its location squating.

This is weird. It's a +1 channel. All it is is a time delay rebroadcast. There's really no reason for this to happen, it should've launched as soon as Paramount took over 5Spike's channel numbers.

Well the two hour a day rule only came in relatively recently in a bid to deter EPG squatting, and was meant to be a bit of a tougher restriction - but remember there are stakeholders like ITV who have several such services running, so they probably couldn't push this much further.

Not sure if this is temporary or permanent, but MTV Classic has rebranded as MTV 80s.

I wonder if they’re jumping on the Now bandwagon, and are testing the water for potential rebrands of other channels.

They’ll still probably show reality programming from the 00’s on a channel called MTV 80’s

MTV Classic, currently MTV 80s, doesn't show reality programming, from the 00s or any decade, it is 100% music videos and actually a really good TV channel.

Not sure why 'kernow' has posted this in the Freeview channels thread!

I didn’t think it was worthy of a new thread, and thought this was the most appropriate existing one to post it in.

MTV Germany is free-to-air.

MTV UK, and it's sub-channels are not. Also, if it's not worthy of a thread why exactly post it in the Freeview thread? MTV isn't even on Freeview.

As we pass the eight week line, I would have expected the simulcast of Smithsonian (channel 57 COM5 and channel 793 COM7) to have ended and the COM7 bandwidth switched to Paramount+1. Either that, or Paramount+1 secretly goes on air for 2 hours at night to get round the squatting rule.

Smithsonian 24/7 simulcast is now gone from Channel 793 (as of 5/3/20 I think), Paramount +1 still 'coming soon' (but may indeed be doing the secret 2-hour airing on the rare occasions I'm not glued to it's blank screen ).