Freeview channel changes 16th September 2026

dosh37

Following the recent Freeview terrestrial channel changes on 16th Sept 2026, I have been unable to receive ITV2+1 or ITV4+1 on my Sony Bravia TV. They both appear in the programme guide flagged with 'Please Re-tune'. Channel re-scanning via the 'Digital Setup' menu on the TV makes no difference. According to the Freeview website both channels should be available via the Sandy Heath transmitter.

I tried phoning Freeview but they were no help. Their suggestion was to either buy a new TV or buy a set top box!

Has anyone else encountered this problem?

fwor

Rather than re-scanning (which typically means keeping all existing channels and updating the channel database with new/moved ones), do you get the option to delete all channels before scanning?

It's possible that the recent repeated changes on some channels have caused channel storage issues - my MythTV system now has three channel numbers for each of ITV2+1 and Film4+1! And two of the three still work, so I don't know quite what's going on…

AstonSmith

ITV2+1 and ITV4+1 moved from COM4 to PSB2. PSB (Public Service Broadcast) should be available everywhere in the country, including Sandy Heath.

Retuning should work. Do other channels on PSB2 show correctly, like ITV1?

(The retune option seems to be [Settings] — [Channels & Inputs] — [Channels] — [Channel setup] — [Auto tuning], but there's a lot of different Bravia TVs out there)

dosh37

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82141983#Comment_82141983

As far as I know, all other channels including ITV1 are ok.

Film4+1 has moved down to a higher channel number near the end of the list.

The end of the channel list now looks like this:-

796 Film4+1

797 E4 Extra

798 ITV2+1 Please Re-tune

799 ITV4+1 Please Re-tune

I can receive both Film4+1 and E4 Extra ok - although after several seconds of watching either channel, a pop-up message appears telling me the channel has moved and that I need to retune before 21st October.

When I phoned Freeview the guy mentioned something about some channels moving to MP4 encoding/compression. He suggested that my older Bravia TV may not be capable of receiving that format. Is that correct?

Note that the Freeview tuner in my TV cannot receive HD (although the actual display is HD)

dosh37

Here are some photos…

dosh37

I just tried using the Freeview tuner on my Sony DVD/HD recorder.

That was initially also unable to receive both ITV2+1 or ITV4+1. It was also unable to receive Film4+1 and E4 Extra.

After re-tuning (using Replace Channels) it now behaves in the same way as the TV. i.e. ITV2+1 and ITV4+1 cannot be received (no video) and indicate 'Please Re-tune' in the programme guide. Film4+1 and E4 Extra can be received but also display the broadcast pop up message about re-tuning before Oct 21st.

My conclusion is that Freeview have screwed up (not for the first time).

According to the Freeview website there were no changes to the above channels in the 16th Sept updates:-

marlot

I've pretty much given up on freeview, and now watch using a manhattan aero which streams the channels over the internet.

Rodders53

What model of TV?

The channels moved into the DVB-T, SD, PSB2, D3&4 mux have also changed to use the H.264 codec (as used on the PSB2, BBC B, HD mux). Other channels on D3&4 use the MPEG2 codec.

Some may be "dual illuminating" on both old and new setups, where there's sufficient data capacity for a time before switching off the old.

Older SD-only TVs and PVRs almost certainly don't have the H.264 video codec built in. So no picture.(Though a few EU-wide models sold in the UK did. H264 with DVB-T is/was widely used on the Continent for HD broadcasts.)

A newer Freeview HD TV or PVR will work with this change quite happily.

SiliconChip

I retuned my Humax Freeview PVR yesterday to get ITV4+1 back successfully. It's a minimum of 5 years old but probably several years more than that, I bought it for my mum and she died in 2021.

dosh37

If Freeview have changed the encoding on certain channels then why does the receiver display a misleading 'Please re-tune' message? Why have channels appear in the electronic programme guide that you can no longer receive?

dosh37

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82142168#Comment_82142168

Sorry, but I am a pensioner and don't understand most of those acronyms. You seem to be suggesting I discard my perfectly good TV and DVD/HD recorder to landfill just because Freeview decided to move some channels around? I would probably also have to replace my HiFi system or buy some kind of adapter since modern TVs don't have phono connectors for audio.