Some of the two-million odd users of Freesat have been shaking their heads in puzzlement over the last six months. The service, which offers 'over 200 free-to-air tv and radio channels' via dishes and set-top boxes, has lost a number of favourite channels. It's run jointly by the BBC and ITV.
The latest to leave is Vintage TV, founded by music lawyer David Pick. It claims to be the most prolific producer of music tv in the UK, adding 30 hours a month, to an 800 hour back catalogue. It says that Freesat has upped its carriage charges; Freesat says not, though there is a new charging structure. “Freesat’s aim is not to make a profit from these changes but simply to cover its operational costs. We believe that the redistribution of fees for broadcast channels makes it a fairer system for all our partners."
Earlier this year Freesat lost 4Music and Kiss TV. Channel 4 also pulled its main HD service, saying it faced 'a significant cost increase' for carriage.
There are some new channels: the African channel, Yanga, and TRT World, the Turkish news channel.
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