FREEVIEW viewers lose access to two channels this week in the latest changes to the service.
It includes one beloved music station that’s been on Freeview since 2006.
Fortunately the station isn’t shutting down entirely.
There are other ways to continue receiving it via your TV, detailed below.
And to fill the void, there is one new channel launch on the platform too.
See the full list of changes on Freeview in May.
Two channels disappear from Freeview in May, notably much-loved radio station Absolute Radio.
Owners Bauer had already yanked seven radio stations on April 2, including Magic, Greatest Hits Radio and Kiss.
The amount of people listening to radio via their telly is now relatively small making up only 4 per cent of digital consumption.
Some 37million hours were still listened to on a telly in the last quarter of 2023, according to RAJAR radio data.
Meanwhile, DAB now takes up the lion’s share of digital radio listening, at 59 per cent and 433million hours.
The move may not come as a surprise as the stations had already been taken down from Sky and Virgin Media last year.
Of course, Absolute Radio isn’t closing down – fans can continue to listen on TV via the Radioplayer app, radio, mobile or smart speaker.
If you have a Samsung or LG smart TV, you can listen to the stations through the Radioplayer app on there instead.
Aside from Absolute Radio, the other channel disappearing from Freeview this month is Fail Army/Pet Collective.
It was a streamed channel found on number 264.
This too is not closing down completely, viewers can continue watching online or via Samsung TV Plus.
Here are the channel numbers you need to know:
There is one new channel launch on Freeview this month.
It’s a station called Seen on TV – however there isn’t any information about what broadcasts on the channel as yet.
According to RXTVInfo it’s a shopping channel and will only be available in Manchester.
“You will need to retune to update your TV and keep your channels and TV Guide up to date,” Freeview says.
