It’s that time of the month again – when Freeview channels get mixed up, new channels are added, and millions of viewers across the country need to retune their devices and re-learn where some of their favourite channels are located.
This time – That’s TV’s music and nostalgia channels go through a major reshuffle, two new channels – including Zee World – are coming, and some of Great! TV’s +1 movie channels are getting wider coverage.
The changes have started to roll out on August 23, but as always, some viewers will need to retune their Freeview devices for the correct new numbers and channels to fall into place (some devices do this retune automatically – see our recommended Freeview recorders here).
Freeview, which started its life back in 2002, is the United Kingdom’s terrestrial television platform. It provides free-to-air TV channels and radio stations (via a Freeview aerial – see the ones we recommend), including more than 80 standard and HD channels. You can watch it on any supported TV, or by using a set-top Freeview box.
To watch Freeview via broadband, you’ll need one of the new subscription-based devices like Sky Stream or Virgin Media Stream (though not all Freeview channels are available on these devices).
See our full Freeview guide here.
New Freeview Channels
Two new Freeview channels are being added to the service this week.
That’s 90s
The “That’s TV” network has a long list of music channels dedicated to different decades – and they often change and replace those decades.
That’s 90s – a channel dedicated to music videos and entertainment from the 90s – already popped up on our screens back in January. Then, in March, it was replaced by a That’s 70s channel, only in Manchester.
But since no one can get rid of the 90s – the channel is back yet again, this time on Freeview Channel 86.
In addition, That’s TV’s other channels are changing places – see below for the full list.
Zee World
Freeview did not supply a lot of information about the channel yet – however, in South Africa, Zee World is an English-language Bollywood entertainment pay television channel, owned by Zee Entertainment.
In the UK, it will be a free channel on Freeview’s internet-connected platform, but we’re yet to find out the exact shows it will feature.
Some Freeview channels, like Channel Box, Ketchup TV and the new Zee World channel, are Freeview IP channels – meaning they can only be delivered via broadband, and do not reach your house via the aerial.
To watch these streaming Freeview channels, you need a modern Freeview device that supports the HbbTV standard – most modern Smart TVs with Freeview Play, and Freeview Play set-top boxes (like the Manhattan T3-R, Humax Aura and others) already support this standard.
Once your device is connected to the internet, you will be able to reach these IP-only Freeview channels like a normal channel through the TV Guide.
Zee World is, therefore, launching on connected Freeview Channel 278.
Freeview Channels Changing Numbers
This month’s long list of EPG numbering changes started with That’s TV, the nostalgia and entertainment channel, moving from channel 65 to channel 56.
This, in turn, has led to a reshuffle of That’s TV’s other channels – and frankly, with them moving around and changing their names and themes every couple of months, it’s becoming really hard to follow – but here’s the full list of changes for August:
That’s 60s is moving from Freeview Channel 71 to Freeview Channel 65
That’s 70s is moving from Freeview Channel 75 to Freeview Channel 71
That’s 80s is moving from Freeview Channel 76 to Freeview Channel 75
That’s TV (UK) is moving from Freeview Channel 65 to Freeview Channel 56
That’s 60s (Manchester) is moving from Freeview Channel 77 to Freeview Channel 76
That’s 70s (Manchester) is moving from Freeview Channel 80 to Freeview Channel 77
That’s 80s (Manchester) is moving from Freeview Channel 86 to Freeview Channel 80
Also – TV channel Together TV+1 is moving from Freeview Channel 90 to Freeview Channel 285.
Freeview Coverage Changes
Lastly for the August update, three +1 channels from the Great! network will now be available UK-wide, whereas before, they were only available in limited areas.
+1 channels are becoming somewhat obsolete these days, with people used to streaming content (or at least recording it), but some channels continue to operate these versions.
The affected channels are:
GREAT! TV+1 on Freeview Channel 61.
Great! Movies+1 on Freeview Channel 62.
Great! Romance+1 on Freeview Channel 63.
Retune Your Freeview Device
Whenever Freeview changes take place, some people need to retune their Freeview devices – otherwise, channel numbers and names won’t be correct, and new channels won’t show up.
Some devices do a retune automatically, but others might require a manual retune for this week’s changes to update correctly.
You can find more information on how to retune your device, on Freeview’s retuning help section.
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