Five misses out on Freeview HD channel this year

Posted on 15 Mar 2010 at 17:59

Five has missed out on its chance to launch an HD channel this year, even after it obtained permission from Ofcom in June 2009 to do so.

Ofcom has revealed that it has now withdrawn the capacity for an HD channel from Five after the channel couldn't provide the regulator with a lunch date and other key information. The channel has now said that it was not in a position to launch an HD channel, citing the expense of doing so in an uncertain time for TV advertising.

The slot has now gone to BBC, which will be able to launch a second HD channel to complement its current one, BBC HD. This is good news for BBC fans, as the single HD channel is currently used to show programmes from all of the BBC's standard definition line up. The congestion this causes means that some programmes, such as Heroes, end up being broadcast in HD weeks after the standard definition version.

Five's original plan was to show an HD simulcast of its main channel between 5pm and 1am, leaving the rest of the broadcast time to another channel. In a way Ofcom's decision is good news, as it means that we won't have to be subjected to an HD version of Live From Studio Five. This atrocity of TV programming is correctly described by Charlie Brooker as, "A show dumber than a blank screen and a low hum."

Author: David Ludlow

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