BBC shifts FTA transmission date

The BBC has said it will not switch to broadcasting from Astra 2D "in the clear" until 14th July as this will give them two weeks after the ITC ruling on the subject which is due around the end of June according to Broadcast Magazine.

Originally the BBC had planned to move at the end of May but then got into a tangle with Sky over its position in the EPG. The BBC wants to retain 101 and 102 with a software change to the STBs to allow the correct location to be entered into the box by the consumer to ensure they get the correct region in those slots. Sky have countered that it is a non trivial thing to change the STB code and in any case the slots are used by RTE in Eire and so can't just be simply given to the BBC and have suggested moving the BBC down the EPG.

An independent research firm suggested that a move would cause substantial problems and confusion for DSAT consumers and was likely to jam Sky's and the BBC's phone lines with irate viewers not being able to find their programmes.