ITV1+1 11 January 2011 (at last)
It was first expect that ITV1+1 would come to Freeview during the 30 September 2009 Freeview retune, but this did not happen due to last minute rights issues.
When ITV plc, which runs the official channel 3 services in England and Wales, was created from the merger of two companies, Carlton and Granada, the Competition Commission imposed conditions, which are called the Contract Contracts Rights Renewal (CRR) remedy.
Almost all the other channels that have "+1" time shift channels are single national broadcasts. It is straightforward to create ITV2+1, for example. The output of the channel is fed into a "black box" that re-outputs the content an hour later, and used for a national broadcast.
As the streams for UTV+1, and STV+1 are now on satellite, we can be confident that the ITV+1 service will run throughout the UK.
Channel 4 plus one
It was a little more complicated for Channel 4. This commercial channel has no local or regional editorial content, but does have six regions for advertising: London, Southern England+Wales, Midlands, North England, Scotland, Northern Ireland.To create Channel 4+1, the corporation needed to use six "black box" devices, to ensure the correct advertisements are seen.
Channel 3 plus one
Back at channel 3, the ITV1 channel has many advert regions. STV, which runs the channel in Scotland, divides into four:- STV Dundee: Dundee, Perth, St Andrews
- STV Aberdeen: Aberdeen, Inverness, Wick
- STV Edinburgh: Edinburgh, Livingstone, Dunfermline
- STV Glasgow: Glasgow, Stirling, Ayr, Fort William
UTV operates only a single service in Northern Ireland (covering Belfast, Londonderry, Ballycastle, Castlederg). ITV plc has the following advertising regions:
- Border: Carlisle, Dumfries, Kendal
- TTTV Pontop Pike: Sunderland, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Gateshead, Berwick-upon-Tweed
- TTTV Bilsdale: Whitby, Darlington, Hartlepool
- Granada: Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool, Lancaster
- YTV Emley Moor: Bradford, Leeds, York, Doncaster
- YTV Belmont: Grimsby, Lincoln, Scarborough, Skegness
- Wales: Cardiff, Swansea, Aberystwyth, Llandudno
- West: Bristol, Bath, Yeovil, Bridgewater, Taunton
- WestCountry: Plymouth, Exeter, Torquay, Truro, Penzance
- Central West: Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Shrewsbury, Coventry
- Central East: Nottingham, Leicester, Derby
- Central South: Oxford, Swindon, Cheltenham, Gloucester
- Anglia North: Kings Lynn, Norwich, Great Yarmouth
- Anglia South: Ipswich, Felixstowe
- Anglia West: Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Peterborough
- London: Guildford, Woking, High Wycombe, Dartford
- Meridian Kent: Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone
- Meridian Sussex: Brighton, Eastbourne, Worthing
- Meridian Thames Valley: Basingstoke, Andover
- Meridian Hampshire: Southampton, Portsmouth, Salisbury, Poole, Bournemouth
This requires, for each region, a separate "black box". These "black box" devices must feed the hour-delay signal back into Multiplex 2 (also known as multiplex PSB2) as only this multiplex has the correct regions.
ITV1+1 on screen graphic.
Latest ITV multiplex allocations
The slot on PSB2 currently used for the ITV2+1 will be used for ITV1+1. ITV2+1 will move to the slot on multiplex A (aka COM4 or SDN) currently used for the "ITV Preview". As this slot timeshares with the CITV children's channel, ITV2+1 will only operate during peak hours.Public service transmitters
As the public service transmitters carry only the PSB1, PSB2 and PSB3 (HD) multiplexes, this means that ITV1+1 will be carried to all UK homes, and ITV2+1 will only be available to those with the full Freeview service.Free to air satellite
Freesat users will see ITV1+1 (or STV+1 or UTV+1) on channel number 112. For ITV1+1 fSfS and Sky use channel number 131, ITV2+1 moves to 179.On satellite transponder 53 (10.891 H) has UTV+1, ITV1 Central West+1, ITV1 London+1; transponder 54 (10.906 V) has STV West+1, ITV Granada+1, ITV 1 Merdian South+1.
Channel 5 plus one?
So, what of FIVE+1? The channel has four advert regions: Scotland, Northern England, London and "Network". However, there is no space on multiplex 2 (PSB2) for such a channel, and no other multiplex has the correct divisions.Contact information
Any further questions, please contact ITV on 0844 881 4150.On Virgin Media ITV1+1 is 114.
1:13 PM
er, yes; but I must admit I like them, as it is handy when you turn on part way through a programme to be able to see it from the beginning!
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Good idea with satellite or if your get your TV from one of the lucky 81 transmitters.
But a waist of space for the other thousand relays.
If we had a vote on this it would be 8% for and 92% against on freeview.
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Mark's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Josh: There will be six "+1" on Freeview: ITV1+1, Channel 4+1, ITV2+1 (part time), Dave Ja Vu, E4+1, and Sky3+1.
Leaving aside that each channel has paid for the slot, and they are all on different multiplexes, it is hard to see how closing these could harvest a whole multiplex necessary for conversion to DVB-T2.
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steve: The +1 channels are particularly popular in places where people have much longer commutes home (London and the South East) and people miss the main schedueld broadcast.
The channels would not be on air if people didn't watch them, and they require almost no promotion.
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Andrew Thomas: But you can't have the choice between Film4 and ITV1+1. Film4 is provided by the Channel 4 corporation on a for-profit basis, and can't therefore go on Multiplex 2/PSB2 space gifted to the Channel 3 licensee.
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Mark A.: Freeview isn't a democracy, however, it is a commercial operation where the content providers do whatever it takes to maximize their profits.
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10:25 AM
Does this mean Wales also loses ITV2+1 like it lost CITV, now that they will share the same slot?
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Gruff: I suspect the closure of S4C2 will actually provide a space for both CITV and ITV2+1, but this has not yet been confirmed by anyone.
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3:50 PM
Explain to me how UTV covers Belfast, Londonderry, Ballycastle & Castlederg. When it's broadcast on 3 main transmitter stations and 44 relays.
Answer me a straight question - Will ITV+1 start broadcasting in Scotland and Northern Ireland next Tuesday?
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Sam: Sorry, the "area text" was taken from the ITV blurb I linked to.
UTV is a single region when it comes to the BBC, UTV news and advertising and Channel 4 ad sales, and part of the "network" bit for FIVE.
This was just to explain the complications for ITV1+1 compared with, say, Dave Ja Vu.
I'm expecting there to be UTV+1 and STV+1 from next week, given all the time that has been spent getting this right.
I would expect their complaints departments would be very busy next week otherwise.
But, I've not had an official confirmation.
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