HOUSEHOLDS with Sky and Freesat TV have been warned that 14 popular channels may disappear from their boxes. But fear not, they're not shutting down. The change forms part of a satellite signal upgrade. Here's how you can get them back. UKTV has become the latest in a string of broadcasters, including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky, to switch its satellite signal to DVB-S2 - a new, second-gen broadcast system.
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It's supposed to have a higher capacity for satellite television on the backend - though there's no tangible difference for viewers sat at home at the moment. While in theory it means UKTV will have more capacity for additional channels, the broadcaster has not said what it will use the extra space for. For now, the switch only affects how the standard definition (SD) versions of U&Alibi, U&Dave, U&Drama, U&Eden, U&Gold, U&W, U&Yesterday are broadcast to Sky and Freesat receivers.
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UKTV is home to shows such as Taskmaster, Call the Midwife, Doctor Foster, Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over and David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities. Most viewers won't be impacted by the change directly. But those with Sky+HD, Sky Q or Freesat HD/4K may lose access to UKTV's channels - including UKTV's +1 channels - following the switch and will have to rescan their boxes. The affected channels include:.
