Five joins Freesat (original) (raw)

Five is to take its place on the Freesat DTH platform from November 18. It follows the expiry of its contract with BSkyB that had meant its signal was previously encrypted.

A spokeswoman for Freesat said that although there were discussions over the addition of Five’s additional services Fiver and Five US, no immediate launch was expected.

In a statement Freesat MD Emma Scott said she looked forward to welcoming Five to the platform.

Charles Constable, Director of Strategy at Five, also expressed delight at the channel’s additional distribution. “Our launch will support three of Five’s objectives: to be universally available throughout the UK, to let viewers watch our programmes on the platform of their choice, and to enable as many people as possible to watch Five free of charge.

The last of the five analogue channels to join Freesat, Five will take channel 105 on Freesat, the same number it holds on Sky.

Julian Clover is a Media and Technology journalist based in Cambridge, UK. He works in online and printed media. Julian is also a voice on local radio. You can talk to Julian on X @julianclover, or by email at jclover@broadbandtvnews.com.