Discovery confirms Quest launch date

Discovery has confirmed that Quest, its first ever free-to-air channel in the UK, will officially launch at the end of September.

The move follows a decision by the US broadcaster to postpone the channel's previously scheduled May 14 launch date due to a "number of commercial factors".

Back in October 2008, Ofcom granted a service licence for Quest to launch on Freeview using capacity on multiplex A.

Discovery paid around £10 million to secure the position on Freeview, with a placeholder for Quest being up on the platform since January.

The broadcaster has previously indicated that the channel would become available at some point "later in the year", but did not specify an exact date.

However, a Discovery spokeswoman has now told Broadcast Now that Quest will officially launch on Freeview on September 30. The channel will carry a mix of entertainment, factual and lifestyle programming.