If you ruled Freeview

This is what they did when UKTV first launched. The new channels were initially cable only with only UK Gold on Satellite so they started a UKTV Barker channel with Style, Arena and Horizons time-sharing (it had some sort of scrolling message with the picture inset.

It's quite a good idea, but does cause problems for the consituent channels having to have complex common junctions to allow the timeshares.

TBH I quite like the way it's done now by UKBI (and FTN) - a good way of catching up on stuff missed out on first time round. Their inclusion on DTT can only be a good thing as they carry mainly original productions rather than imports - a rar thing in multichannel TV

Keeping out the other channels they may not be, but vile creations they certainly flipping are!

Why not just change the whole Freeview thing to allow a small amount of pay channels into the spaces left by kicking off the poor quality free channels.

If I could have a fiddle with freeview for a Day(or more likely the DTT channels as SDN etc is not really freeview), I would sort out Channel numbering. For example, Channel 8 and 9 are wasted. These are 'Premium' channel numbers used on 'minority' things. S4C/Tele G are just for some areas and not National. In my opinion, everyone should at least see 1 to 10. 10 firm, solid channels, not bits and bobs and gaps.Teletext is not something you would spend an evening with after work. Its just a thing to flick about on for a few minutes while bored. Its a Text based service, which should belong with all the other text based services in the 50's.

I would put all the shopping together too. 16, 17, 23, 24 is too much of a spread out. Mixed up with Lifestyle and music channels, I don’t think looks good.

I would have a UKTV channel with everything from UKTV and not just certain areas like UKBI does. I would also have a Sky Channel with 'Stuff not as good as sky one, but not as Travel focused as Sky Travel'. A channel which would allow OLD sky Dramas, Entertainment stuff etc. Things like old Mile High, Dream Team, Little Monsters etc. Old stuff which does not suit a 'Travel' channel but a minority/Repeat Type Sky channel which could be free, where as Sky One could not be cos of 'New stuff'.

I would also like to see different types of Radio. At the mo its all, Emap with the non stop playing too fast pop/current music, and BBC Radio which is all Typical BBC stuff. Jazz fm and Oneword are good variants and I would like to see more stuff from more Companies instead of Huge chunks of stuff with hardly much difference like what Emap have put out.

I take your point, but S4C is on channel 4, with Channel 4 on channel 8.

Yes, I do know that, but I do think Channel 8 should be used for a national service. For lets says the 'Nornal, Thick english person' with a DTT box, it looks strange having a channel missing, where as if Wales had something like Channel 25 as an extra channel, no normal Joe bloggs in england would not really know it was there and that just a certain area can only get this service, they would think the channels stop at 24 or something. i'm sure you understand what i'm getting at.
What I'm saying is that Wales/Scotland "Bit of importent national Extra" should not be stuck in an obvious place.

Actually, due to the cash flow crisis at FlexTech, Ftn is evolving into a paid programming / shopping channel. Look for 2 hours of Thomas Cook trying to sell you holidays programming each evening, from 18:00h - 20:00h since the latter part of December 2003.

Who said its a Cash flow crisis? Ftn might just be on a month/2 month or so holiday mode?

I think it's permanent and unprecedented. According to DigiGuide, it was originally purely going to affect a single week over the festive period. Since then, their listings have been updated to show Thomas Cook TV at 6PM for as long forward as you can go.

It does seem odd though that this co-incides with them extending their broadcasting hours until 6AM, when they used to stop at 2AM.

I'd rather they stuck those two hours at the end of the programming day rather than the start.

I think most would rather those 2 hours were at the end, but we all know why they are not. in so to speak terms - No one watch if at end. Someone Maybe if at start. Thomas Cook obviously want punters to catch it so.......