Re: Freeview changes
 

Do we now know why Ideal World sold Create & Craft?

Investor buys Ideal World shopping channel

Asset management firm Aurelius Equity Opportunities has sold the home shopping channel Ideal World to the investor Hamish Morjaria.

https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2022...medium=twitter

Re: Freeview changes
 

The private equity business decided that running it as it was wasn't worthwhile still being invested and decided to asset strip, which is pretty normal for private equity companies because they can't be bothered making a go of businesses and just see them as way to make more money from selling off bits separately. So many businesses get destroyed to make money for little effort. Private equity companies often load them up with debt too.

RXTVlog seem to think this too.
https://rxtvinfo.com/2022/ideal-worl...ff-to-investor

Re: Freeview changes
 

Liz Truss: “Ofcom is looking into RT”

The UK’s foreign secretary Liz Truss has invited Ofcom to look into RT’s content over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, an issue the watchdog views as a “priority”.

https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/l...ooking-into-rt

Re: Freeview changes
 

Update Hobby Maker has confirmed on it Facebook page at Hobby Maker will launch on March 2nd from 1pm to 6pm - Times base on my Freeview HD TV Set.

---------- Post added at 20:15 ---------- Previous post was at 20:11 ----------

Hobby Maker will also launch on March 2nd on Sky Channel 670.

---------- Post added at 20:17 ---------- Previous post was at 20:15 ----------

https://www.facebook.com/HobbyMakerTV

Re: Freeview changes
 

Bizarre. "Launch"?! It's already a 24hr channel on Freeview, since it's recent rebrand from Shopping Quarter. And the Sky part is just a rebrand of the, hardly been around long, Gemporia Craft. Marketing departments don't half come up with a lot of misleading rubbish.

Re: Freeview changes
 

@cheekyangus

I see a old Create & Craft (own by Ideal World) slot on Channel 95 is still broadcasting as of 10am today.

So much for rumour of it Channel slot deal being up as of Midnight last night.

I feel that Create & Craft merge with The Craft Store was down to the old Create & Craft slot being up on March 1st but The Craft Store owners did not want to move Create & Craft things out of Ideal World HQ to their own HQ on a Sunday Night.

Re: Freeview changes
 

The impression given by some was that 25th was two years from the C&C contract starting, apparently based on when it launched. I can't say I ever looked into it, it felt like 2 years so I never questioned it.

The photo slate on Ch95 changed to a big Back Soon-type message in the evening yesterday, so you've got to wonder what's happening. Some on DS satellite forums were under impression Craft Extra was going to continue, and I saw a tweet from one of the presenters posted yesterday of him and another presenter in front of a Craft Extra logo with a Sky channel number, but I'm not sure what's going on on Freeview, unless Extra is going to continue on one of those late night slots that are empty on some streams, with the intention of providing coverage the rest of the time via IP.

And on the subject of the latter form of delivery, on my TV The Craft Store/new Craft & Create has had 24 hours data before this merger, and doesn't have an off-air slate. I think I read somewhere, probably RXTV, that they would be using IP for out-of-hours provision, so that could explain the 24 hours EPG data. Schedule data for the IP-only channels shows on Freeview TVs, even though they're not connected, it's not too much of a stretch to think that it's likely true for those that mix broadcast and IP too.

Re: Freeview changes
 

DS Forum is reporting that Craft Extra at 10am, 11am and 2pm was broadcasting today on Sky using The Craft Store but "Martin" did reveal on Facebook live yesterday that Craft Extra* will only be broadcasting "for a few weeks"

-To see Facebook live in full: To go "Create & Craft TV" and you will find video posted on Feb. 25th at 10.01 then play video.

*Look The Craft Store is just broadcasting to sell all "end of line stock" at Create and Craft did buy to sell on channel when Ideal World own them.

Re: Freeview changes
 

COM4, COM5 and COM6 - Can broadcast up to 18 (24 hours) stream - if they want too:

Right now

COM4 - 17 SD streams
-Create and Craft Extra is using one stream

COM5 - 16 SD streams
COM6 - 16 SD streams

Due to Create and Craft Extra closing down last week.

Up to SIX (24 hours) streams are up for broadcasters to launch on Freeview or channels moving from a soon to close COM7 (by June 2022)

-Talk TV (Channel to launch by June)
-W (Rumour only)

The following is broadcasting on COM7 right now (COM7 to close by June)

-FreeSports
-Quest Red+1
-Now 80s
-More4+1
-PBS America+1
-That's TV (UK)
-Forces TV

Re: Freeview changes
 

There's not really a number limit on the video streams, it just depends on what quality is deemed acceptable to the buyers. They could fill it with 100s of thumbnail video streams if they wanted to.

And the non-PSB multiplexes are all carrying a mixture of other services, they aren't carrying identical loads.

COM4 has 3 radio stations, 5 IP services & 2 "teletext" dating services.
COM5 has 5 radio stations.
COM6 has 9 radio stations.

It can't be assumed there's going to be 18 on each when they are differently loaded up currently.

Different content requires different space, you can get away with lower space usage for shopping channels and rolling news as their content is often static or slow moving imagery. They have to balance the multiplexes and mix channel types of different types of content. Remember the problems when all the BBC channels had the same content simultaneously when they were all transmitting the same coverage of Prince Philip's death. They had to shut a few channel services down because the channels had the same data transmission peaks and it affected the entire multiplex.

Freesports needs more space because of the content it shows if it's going to be watchable, the other SD services on the soon-to-close COM7 don't really need as much.

Re: Freeview changes
 

TVB Europe: European Union bans RT

In an unprecedented step, the European Union has announced it is banning both RT and Sputnik from broadcasting in the bloc.

https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/e...-union-bans-rt

Q: Will RT stop broadcasting in Freeview HD?
A: It will be up to OFCOM on what to do next with RT Broadcasting in the UK.
But if Freeview use Astra (a Luxembourg based company) to broadcast RT and RT HD* on Freeview HD it viewers may also be no longer be able to watch both RT and RT HD.

*RT HD is set to close on Freeview HD by June 2022 anyway.

Re: Freeview changes
 

I can confirm Craft Extra (Freeview Channel 95) is NOT broadcasting a same thing as The Craft Channel on (Sky Channel 673).

Re: Freeview changes
 

Don't think that really needed confirming since there's been a slate since the evening of the 25th saying "BE BACK SOON PLEASE STAND BY THANK YOU" in big white capital letters on a dark blue background on Ch95.

Re: Freeview changes
 

The EU can switch off Hotbird & Eutelsat feeds. But RT UK is based in Millbank. The Russian feed passes through this facility as there is a UK opt-out. This is fed out to Chilworth & uplinked to Astra where it is output on Europe wide beams. So, the EU would have to ask the UK to switch off OUR feed? Gets more interesting by the minute. The Freeview feed also comes from Millbank for obvious reasons.

Re: Freeview changes
 

So is the upshot of this that RT could continue here using only UK provided content?