CHANNEL 5 WILL JOIN FREESAT.

CHANNEL 5, WILL IT OR WON'T IT JOIN FREESAT?

CHANNEL 5'S OPINION OF FREESAT SHOW THEY ARE GOING TO JOIN FREESAT WHEN THEY CAN, WHETHER IT BE AFTER CONTRACT RELEASE FROM SKY OR MAYBE EVEN DUAL ILLUMINATION, WE LOOK FORWARD WITH INTEREST.

Channel 5
Five supports the BBC’s Freesat initiative as a worthwhile contribution to the process of digital switchover. We recognise that because Freeview is currently unavailable to over one quarter of households, for many people the only digital option they have is Sky. A Freesat offering would provide a valuable alternative route to digital for people who are unwilling for whatever reason to take up Sky’s subscription or “Freesat from Sky” offerings.
Five looks forward to joining the Freesat venture and to our service being made available on the new platform. However, it will take some time for us to negotiate appropriate agreements with rights holders to enable us to broadcast “in the clear”.
We therefore urge the BBC Trust to approve the proposal for Freesat proposed by the BBC Management