Major Freeview EPG revamp to go ahead after appeals rejected

DMOL, the company maintaining the Freeview EPG and the order of stations listed within it, has thrown out two appeals made against the channel listing revamp it proposed in July.

The channel number changes were due to be implemented in a retune that went through on 19 September. Thanks to two separate appeals against the plan - made by Sky and an “adult channel provider” unwilling to be identified in public, respectively - the rejig was only partially implemented.

Originally mooted in March and confirmed with minor changes in July, the channel revamp would have seen programme genres more evenly spread throughout the 700-odd channels pegged for TV and related uses rather than have them all crammed in below 120.

“Both appeals have been considered in accordance with DMOL policy,” the EPG overseer said today.

“Having independently reviewed the evidence put forward, the chair of DMOL does not consider that either party has presented a sufficiently compelling case that the moves should not go ahead.

“The original decisions will therefore stand.”

Consequently, the changes to the HD and Adult channel bands will now be implemented on 17 October.

HD channels will then start at 101 - they currently begin at 50, and the adult selection will move from channels 91 and up to 171.

Other proposed changes will continue to be delayed. Children’s channels and News stations were due to move to 121 and 131, respectively, but these will now be shifted “on the Wednesday that follows 16 weeks after Logical Channel Number (LCN) 65 is allocated, ie. when the General Entertainment genre nears full capacity”.

In the event of inclement weather - or that the move date falls during a change freeze period - then “the move will take effect on the Wednesday that follows the end of the change freeze”, DMOL said. ®