Freeview Revamp: BBC Channels Are Moving – For Some

Another significant change is coming to Freeview this week: In a continued effort to modernize television viewing experiences, the BBC has made more changes to the channel lineup on certain Freeview devices, with HD finally taking centre stage.

This comes after last October’s repositioning of several BBC HD channels. Now, BBC One HD and BBC Two HD are also joining the fray, ensuring that high-definition viewing is more accessible and intuitive than before. 

However, these channel number changes are only relevant to people with newer internet-connected Freeview Play TVs or set-top boxes, and won’t affect older Freeview boxes.

This means that – for now – only a handful of devices (and TVs) can support this change (see the full list below).

As we reported last October, the BBC has already moved several HD channels, including BBC Three HD, BBC Four HD, CBeebies HD and more to new channel numbers on supported Freeview Play devices.

This was part of the BBC’s strategy to make HD versions the ‘default’ for viewers as more devices support HD channels. 

Until those changes, the BBC’s HD channels were positioned, on Freeview, in their own separate “HD Section” of the EPG, from Channel Number 101 and up, while the SD versions occupied the lower channel numbers.

So BBC Three, for example, was on Channel 23, and BBC Three HD, was only on Channel 109. 

With most TVs now supporting HD channels, it makes sense to transform the HD versions of channels into the ‘default’ versions of those channels.

October’s Freeview changes were as follows:

• CBBC HD moved from Channel 204 to Channel 201
• CBeebies HD moved from Channel 205 to Channel 202
• BBC Three HD became available on both Channel 23 and 109
• BBC Four HD was positioned on Channel 9 and 106 (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland), and Channel 24 and 108 in Scotland
• Standard Definition (SD) versions were relocated to higher channel numbers.

More BBC Channels Moving

Building on the changes made previously, and with the BBC now having all its BBC One HD and BBC Two HD local regions on digital terrestrial television platforms (Freeview, Freesat and YouView), it was time to push the second HD:SD swap – and make the HD versions of BBC One and BBC Two the default.

Therefore, this week’s Freeview numbering changes (on supported devices), as of June 7, 2023, are as follows:

• BBC One HD and BBC Two HD will now appear at the top of the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) on Channel 1 and Channel 2.
• BBC One HD and BBC Two HD will also retain their numbers in the HD range on the Freeview guide (Channel 101 and Channel 102).
• The SD versions of BBC One and BBC Two will be relocated to the 600s range of the EPG (Channel 611 and Channel 612 respectively).

So now, here’s the full list of BBC channels with a default HD channel number on supported devices:

• BBC One HD: Available on channels 1 and 101, with the SD version relocated to 611.
• BBC Two HD: Available on channels 2 and 102, with the SD version relocated to 612.
• BBC Three HD: Available on channels 23 and 109, with the SD version relocated to 613.
• BBC Four HD (England, Wales, Northern Ireland): Available on channels 9 and 106, with the SD version relocated to 614.
• BBC Four HD (Scotland): Available on channels 24 and 108, with the SD version relocated to 614.
• CBeebies HD: Available on channel 201, with the SD version relocated to 205.
• CBBC HD: Available on channel 202, with the SD version relocated to 204.

Will My TV Support These Changes?

Not all TVs and Freeview devices will be able to take advantage of these changes, as they will only show up on newer (as in, from 2020 onwards) Freeview Play devices, that support Freeview Play’s Channel List Management technology.

The popular Manhattan T3-R and T3 Freeview boxes, for example, don’t support this – but their upcoming newer models (the T4 and T4-R models) will support this technology.

Therefore, if your device or Freeview Play TV doesn’t support the Channel List Management feature – nothing will change for you this week, and the BBC channels will remain in their existing slots.

To find out if your TV supports the enhanced listing feature and can process the HD:SD swapping when connected to the internet, first go to Channel 100 (the ‘Freeview Explore’ service) on your Freeview Play device.

Then, select “Help and Settings” and check the “Freeview Play platform ID” in the bottom right corner of the screen.

If your TV’s ID is on the list of compatible IDs, your TV should be able to handle the swapping when connected to the internet.

Here’s the full list of TV and device IDs that support the new changes:

Also note that if you disconnect your TV from the internet, the enhanced channel listing will be lost, and the listing will revert to BBC One and BBC Two in standard definition at the top of the EPG.

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