A bakers dozen of changes: Freeview channel number changes from 3 September 2014
These changes have been long coming, and have even been subjected to formal review on behalf of Sky.
From the afternoon of Wednesday 3rd September 2014, Freeview viewers will find that 13 channels will have new numbers.
Depending on the sophistication of (which means "how long you have had") your Freeview equipment, the channels will either change number automatically, or require a retune.
If you have Freeview+ box - the ones the can record programmes - you should find that the channel number changes will not cause any scheduled recordings to change.
You may need to do a "first time installation" to ensure the channel numbers are correct. See My Freeview box has no EPG ... or the channel line up is wrong if you don't know what to do. Another option is the list of retune instruction leaflets and manuals on the Freeview Retune - list of manuals page.
The new channel numbers do provide better logic on the whole, however BBC News HD is in the HD section, whereas CBBC HD and CBeebies HD are not.
Sadly the Freeview channel number system is unable to match Freesat HD and Sky EPGs which both provide the ability to find HD channels in place of the standard definition channels.
All free TV channels
I have recently updated the ever-popular All free TV channels page.As well as ensuring that all the channel numbers are up-to-date (there has been a small number of changes to some Sky Guide numbers) I have split the table to have three new sections.
The first, as shown below, lists all of the High Definition channels first.
A third section now splits the Local TV channels from the "Main TV channels" section, and there is a "Where Local TV broadcast" section for channels that are provided alongside local TV on Freeview.
Good luck with your retune.