ITV1 on Sky

The same way people who will not be able to receive their sub-region on DSat.

So, we'll have to set up a network of people and their regions so we can swap cards then.

I'm game, if you are Problem is I'm in a sh*tty GMG North region so my card won't be worth much I can probably get a card sent over from Northern Ireland but I won't be able to get more than one

Just to remind people that we are only joking and that illegal activity is not promoted on this forum.

Asa

What's illegal about it?

(DISCLAIMER: only kidding )

Oh, err, of course Asa! Don't suppose you can get me hooked up with a Carlton/LWT card?

Disclaimer: NOT joking : ... Seriously though, we're only procrastinating.. I still say, as I have right from day one, we will be able to receive ALL regions via our set top box anyway.

One of the only reasons I can see for ITV giving you only your region is advertising. Advertisers will not pay money if they feel people in a particular area will be watching another region.

Personally I hope all regions are available only to save me from Channel Television and Puffins bloody Place !!! are Channel the only ITV region to have no afternoon news but some stupid no hoper reading out birthday cards !!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

ITV its free let us all watch what we want and when we want it.

Dave - Jersey

I remember when Westcountry TV did it in c.1995/6.

It's still going today,but it's after the news and 2 puppets present it.

Yeah, TTTV used to do birthdays as well -- usually before Home and Away at 5.10. It stopped in March 1996 when Newcastle annos were axed They also had the CA announcing charity events at midday, making the local news half the length of other regions. I liked these little progettes -- helped to give the station a local feel

Is Channel 4 a reasonable case-study for all of this?

Given that they transmit 6 regions each with different adverts (albeit exactly the same programmes) and you don't get all six in the EPG, but you can tune into them manually with add channels, and you get your local one on 104 by default.

Do NTL distribute Channel 4 as well or is it done by someone else?

William

It's right William, it's all down to ITV politics now. We have several case examples here; BBC1 is fully encrypted and you can't get other regions; BBC2 is soft-encrypted and you can get other regions elsewhere on the EPG (BBC Choice used to be the same) and Channel 4 you can get through other channels.

Personally I think that if it is going to cost ITV less to soft-encrypt they'll postcode-lock to channel 103 but they'll have a similar system to Channel 4 whereby there's nothing stopping you from getting other regions by playing around but the average Joe won't know how to do it. Either that or other channels will be in the 800s, but the problem here is cost -- that method will cost more.

It's all speculation really. ITV have said that all regions will be available but that was a while ago so anything could happen. I do have a sneaking suspicion though that ITV will go with the cheapest option that does not make the advertisers and American networks irate. As soft-encryption is not going to lead to a mass exodus of viewers to other regions (can you really see the average Joe Bloggs in Manchester tuning into UTV just to see a bit of IVC??) if it's cheaper I think they'll go with that.

So is that why i can't receive BBC ONE NI/Scot/Wales? it just says 'programme cannot be received'

Because, as I explained , BBC1 is fully encrypted. BBC2, Channel 4 and (I think) Channel 5 are only soft-encrypted. I'd say it's likely that ITV will go the same way...