E4 will be free from 27 th May

andy88_2

Thanks. I'd read speculation somewhere a few weeks ago that this would or ought to happen. Presumably it will need a retune search as it will move to a different multiplex.

englishpunk

fran_from_willesden wrote:

Does this mean the monthly fee for Top-Up TV cards will be reduced?? Me mam pays £8 a month for extra channels - including E4!

No, they are going to simply add another channel ( or two possibly according to some rumours )

Smudge32

I was going to really try and cut down on my Big Brother watching this year.

Oh well!!

rogue_element

E4 is rather cool- has anybody with a digibox without a smartcard slot got it to tune in yet?

lipidicman

Men and Motors is on now? did you have to retune or it was just there?

E4 just in time for 24 hours a day of BIG BROTHER.....snoooooze

jonathang

Hope this is of use - Men and Motors has been available for free on Freeview since May 2nd - however, you may need to do a new channel search on your Freeview box to find it

E4 (as stated earlier) is available for free on Freeview from May 27th - also coming to Freeview is E4+1, which will be E4 with an hour delay

r.mac_2

fab news. This has finally tipped the balance and I will be becoming part of teh freeview digital TV nation.

now where was the best freeview box thread........................

Enjoy

Ive found this from the Guardian, gives more details.



[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]E4 will quit the pay-TV business and join Freeview at the end of next month to coincide with the start of the sixth series of Big Brother. As a result, the channel will withdraw from the Freeview pay-TV service, Top-Up TV, and has terminated a subscription deal with BSkyB, although it will stay on the digital satellite platform. [/font]

[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif] [/font]

[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif] [/font]

[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Under the terms of the BSkyB deal, Channel 4 received a fee for every Sky Digital subscriber who signed up to E4. That arrangement has now been replaced with an agreement that gives BSkyB exclusive rights to E4 on digital satellite. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The channel will also remain on cable but Freeview has become the core outlet for the government-owned broadcaster's multi-channel strategy. [/font]

[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Andy Duncan, chief executive of Channel 4, said the economic benefits of being on Freeview now outweighed the gains from a pay-TV revenue model. [/font]

[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]"The issue is an economic one and the rapid growth of Freeview has now tipped the balance where we think it makes sense to go free. The question is can you earn more from advertising than you would from subs, and that time has come." [/font]

[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Advertising generates around 75% of E4's revenues and the growth of Freeview to nearly five million homes persuaded Channel 4 to make the switch. [/font]

[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]"E4 is a key channel for us. At a stroke this gets the brand and the channel into five million homes and to eight million more viewers," Mr Duncan said. [/font]

[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]E4 was launched as a pay-TV service in 2001 and it gave viewers the first chance to see new episodes of Friends and ER. Desperate Housewives also shows a week early on E4, with the US network hit Lost making its debut on E4 later this year. Big Brother also became a big subscription driver following the launch, to the extent that the reality show accounted for the majority of viewing on E4 last year. [/font]

[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]E4 will be joined by E4+1, a time-shifted sister channel, at the end of next month. More4, a digital factual service, will complete Channel 4's Freeview line-up when it is launched in the autumn. [/font]

[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Andy Roberts, managing partner at Starcom, a media buyer, said he expected E4 to follow the same trajectory as ITV2 and ITV3, which have built a strong following on Freeview. [/font]

[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]"All of the brand extensions that have fed off big terrestrial channels have been successful. They are seen as good extensions of the terrestrial players so they are seen as viable advertising vehicles." Crown Castle, one of three shareholders in Freeview alongside BSkyB and the BBC, expects to make a further three channels available before the end of the year. [/font]

[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Channel 4 and ITV won new slots on Freeview earlier this month after outbidding rival broadcasters in an auction. [/font]

[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]E4 will be taken off the Top-Up TV platform in three months' time. The pay-TV ser vice offers 10 channels, including Discovery and UKTV Gold, for £7.99 a month and is expected to search for another entertainment channel to fill the gap. "Freeview is absolutely up there as a critical platform alongside satellite and cable. Economically it makes sense to get [E4] to the maximum number of homes. Freeview is a significant platform now and it has to be taken seriously," Mr Duncan added. [/font]

danmanchester

lipidicman wrote:

Men and Motors is on now? did you have to retune or it was just there?

E4 just in time for 24 hours a day of BIG BROTHER.....snoooooze

Woohooo just had to do a manual retune of my freeview box and yippee Men & Motors is there!:j Thought me freeview box was set to automatically download new channels but oh well....lol....E4 has registered as channel number 14 of my box but not broadcasting yet.
[edit] Must still be encrypted for TopUpTV customers until 27th May :cool:

Goodaz

I think they did tht for big brother