E4+1 Freeview Change triggers Welsh Anomaly

E4+1 has changed frequencies on Freeview, leading to some viewers in Wales bizarrely being able to watch the +1 but not the main channel.

Channel 4 has been reshuffling its timeshift channels around on Freeview this month. Film4+1 (channel 45) and More4+1 (channel 86) have already changed frequency.

Now E4+1 (channel 28) has moved to a new frequency on Freeview and is being broadcast directly alongside the main standard definition version of Channel 4.

The change means viewers will need to retune to get E4+1 back. It also means that for the first time, E4+1 is available to viewers accessing Freeview on a relay, the so-called "Freeview light" service, at the expense of Film4+1.

The Welsh Anomaly

But in Wales, where many Freeview households are unable to receive the full Freeview service due to the country's mountainous terrain and are reliant on a local relay transmitter, the change has led to the odd situation this evening where E4+1 is now widely available on Freeview, but the main E4 channel is not.

That's because in Wales, part of Channel 4's allocation of Freeview bandwidth is used by Welsh channel S4C. In the rest of the UK, this bandwidth is used by E4. Since 2009, E4 is broadcast on the ITV-owned SDN digital multiplex in Wales, which is only available from a handful of transmitters, that with only limited coverage as their signals are blocked by hills and mountains.

But the change does at least enable some viewers to watch E4 on Freeview in Wales for the first time in a decade, even if an hour later than everyone else.