Telly lovers warned of BBC station changes on Freeview TODAY after recent closures – and there’s a new TV channel too

HOUSEHOLDS with Freeview will notice a few changes on their box today following a number of channel closures in the last year.

Some stations have shifted number completely, others have been rebranded and there’s even a new channel this month.

FreeviewMay need to re-scan your box[/caption]

BBC’s local radio station numbers are shifting

So, viewers will need to familiarise themselves to ensure they’re not missing their favourite programmes.

And it may mean you need to rescan your box too.

The biggest set of changes this time around is to the radio stations on Freeview.

All the local BBC stations have shifted number following the removal of some rival radio networks.

The likes of Magic, Greatest Hits Radio, Kiss and Absolute Radio disappeared from Freeview in April.

They haven’t shutdown completely, just on terrestrial TV, as owners Bauer said the amount of people listening to radio via their telly is now relatively small making up only 4 per cent of digital consumption.

It followed a similar move on Sky and Virgin Media last year, urging people to use their radio app instead.

As a result of the shake-up, Freeview has decided to reshuffle its radio stations a bit, affecting local BBC networks.

The network you receive for each number will depend on where you live but here are all the radio changes to be aware of:

BBC Berkshire – 711

BBC Bristol – 711

BBC CWR – 711

BBC Jersey – 711

BBC Kent – 711

BBC Leeds – 711

BBC Manchester – 711

BBC Newcastle – 711

BBC Norfolk – 711

BBC R Scotland – 711

BBC Radio Ulster – 711

BBC Radio Wales – 711

BBC Radio Cymru – 712

BBC Devon – 712

BBC Radio Foyle – 712

BBC H&W – 712

BBC Lancashire – 712

BBC R n Gaidheal – 712

BBC Nottingham – 712

BBC Suffolk – 712

BBC Sussex – 712

BBC Three Counties – 712

BBC York – 712

BBC Cornwall – 713

BBC Cumbria – 713

BBC Radio Cymru 2 – 713

BBC Guernsey – 713

BBC Humberside – 713

BBC Leicester – 713

BBC Radio London – 713

BBC Shropshire – 713

BBC Wiltshire – 713

BBC Cambridge – 714

BBC Lincolnshire – 714

BBC Merseyside              – 714

BBC Oxford – 714

BBC Solent – 714

BBC Somerset – 714

BBC Surrey – 714

BBC Tees – 714

BBC WM – 714

BBC Solent Dorset – 715

BBC Stoke – 715

BBC Essex – 716

BBC Northampton – 716

BBC Sheffield – 716

BBC Gloucestershire – 716

BBC Derby – 717

New Freeview channel

There’s also a new channel landing on Freeview for July too.

It’s a streamed hybrid offering, so you’ll need your TV hooked up to the internet to watch.

The channel is called GINX TV and you’ll find it on number 296.

GINX TV caters to everything video gaming, which claims to be the “world’s first and largest gaming TV network”.

Channel rebrands

Finally, nine channels available on Freeview have undergone a revamp this month.

One you may have heard about, involving UKTV’s free channels Drama, Dave, W and Yesterday.

They’re all shifting to a unified brand U, meaning they are now called U&Drama, U&Dave, U&W and U&Yesterday.

The same applies to their hour shift +1 channels.

But coverage on the channels remains the same as before, and so do their station numbers too.

The only other rebrand is to That’s 60s and That’s 60’s MCR which have jumped 20 years to become That’s 80s and That’s 80s MCR.

How to cut streaming bills with top FREE TV

Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime don’t come cheap – and year on year subscription costs seem to go up.

Fortunately there are loads of free streaming TV alternatives not everyone knows about.

And we’re not just talking about BBC iPlayer and ITVX.

Here are some free alternatives worth trying:

Hidden streamed channels on your TV from Samsung and LG
Pluto TV with more than 100 extra channels
Amazon’s free alternative Freevee
The free streaming service with more than 30,000 movies and no ads – and all you need is a library card

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