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ITV1 HD

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ITV1 HD
Country United Kingdom
Ownership
OwnerITV plc

ITV1 HD is a British free-to-air high-definition television channel operated by ITV plc, the company which is contracted to provide 11 ITV services across the UK. ITV1 HD is available to view in the United Kingdom on Freesat via channel 119, Freeview channel 51, Sky Digital channel 178 and Virgin Media channel 113. From 2 April 2010, ITV1 HD became a standard channel available on all digital platforms.

History

2006 trial

The original logo of ITV HD

The channel originally existed on a trial basis from June until November 2006, primarily to show the World Cup games to which ITV had the rights.

The channel was available to subscribers of the Telewest TV Drive cable service and was also broadcast as a low-power digital terrestrial (DVB-T) channel from London's Crystal Palace Transmitter as part of a terrestrial HDTV trial involving 450 homes. ITV HD did not broadcast on satellite television, unlike BBC HD. It was available on Telewest channel 118 and Freeview channel 503 in homes which were involved in the HD trial.

In addition to the World Cup games, ITV HD showed classic films remastered in HD (such as All Quiet on the Western Front[disambiguation needed] and The Big Sleep), documentaries (such as Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Adventures) and dramas such as Poirot.

The original ITV HD stopped broadcasting on the 30 November 2006.

2008 launch

The ITV HD logo (2008 - 2009)

High definition broadcasts from ITV plc launched exclusively on Freesat[1], the new digital satellite service from the BBC and ITV on 7 June 2008, just in time for the start of UEFA Euro 2008. ITV plc plans to spend £10m during 2008 on the launch of ITV HD.[2] ITV HD was unavailable on STV and UTV due to these channels being unwilling to give their viewers access to the ITV branded service. However, it was available in Scotland and Northern Ireland on ITV1 London (Freesat channel 977).

Freeview and 2009 rebrand

ITV HD became ITV1 HD when it relaunched for Freeview HD on 2 December 2009.[3] It continued to operate on Freesat as a red button service on select programming.

ITV1 HD aimed to include 35% 'native HD' content at the start of 2010, rising to at least 60% at the start of 2012 and at least 70% at the start of 2014. In the early years, the service will focus on sport and drama content, over time it is expected that the majority of other genres to convert to native HD.[4]

ITV1 HD operated from 18:00 to 23:00 seven days a week.[4] From August 2009, ITV began testing a HD simulcast of ITV1 Granada on satellite, before later switching to ITV London.[5] On 26 November 2009, the ITV1 HD logo appeared as a digital on-screen graphic during programming and the off air station identification.

2010 launch as a standard channel

On 12 March 2010, it was announced that ITV1 HD would become a standard channel on 2 April 2010, simulcasting the main ITV1 channel, and launching on Sky Digital and Virgin Media, as well as switching from a red button interactive service to a full time channel on Freesat.[6] It continues to only be available in ITV plc owned ITV franchise areas, covering England, Wales and the Scottish Borders area, though red button access on ITV1 London (Freesat channel 977) remains in place. The launch coincided with the closure of Men & Motors.[7] During March 2010, Ofcom issued broadcast licenses for six regional variations of ITV1 HD,[8] with Central, Granada/Border and Meridian/Anglia regions joining London/LWT in June 2010.[9]

Technical problems

ITV1 HD's first HD drama broadcast of Harley Street reportedly suffered technical problems including picture & sound quality and failing to revert to the normal SD broadcast after the programme had finished. Also, several Digital Spy forum members reported that they could not access HD content via the red button due to the ITV1 HD service "only being available through the London region".[10]

ITV1 HD cut off England's first World Cup 2010 game into an advert break briefly for 10 seconds, as a result, missing their first World Cup 2010 goal.

References

  1. ^ "Confirmed: ITV HD is Freesat exclusive". Digital Spy. 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  2. ^ "HD version of ITV to launch next Spring". Digital Spy. 12 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  3. ^ "ITV HD will relaunch for Freeview HD". What Satellite & Digital TV. 2009-08-07.
  4. ^ a b "MULTIPLEX B NOTICE OF VARIATION" (PDF). Ofcom. 2009-06-03.
  5. ^ "ITV starts ITV1 HD test transmissions". Digital Spy. 2009-08-11.
  6. ^ "New ITV1 HD channel available on Freesat, Freeview, Sky and Virgin". ITV plc. 2010-03-12. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  7. ^ "Men & Motors to close on satellite". Digital Spy. 2010-03-29.
  8. ^ "Television Broadcast Licensing Update March 2010". Ofcom. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  9. ^ "Questions about ITV1 HD". ITV plc. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  10. ^ "First ITV HD drama suffers tech problems". Digital Spy. 2008-07-18.
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