Temporary Rebrands:

- 2 movie channels with promotional rebrands.

SDT Root Flags updated:

ID 1548  Sky Showcase HD - Placeholder - End of Service 

ID 2392  TNT Sports Olympics 1 - Placeholder - End of Service

ID 2393  TNT Sports Olympics 2 - Placeholder - End of Service

- SDT root flags show that the service is running and not encrypted.

The status of these services have changed from encrypted to not encrypted - encryption removed.

New Service - Pre-launch Configuration:

 

ID 2411 On Demand Streaming  -  Internal Networks Only

- Short EPG Name: ODStream 

- Added to TSID   1 SID   111 on traditional cable networks.

- Pre-launch EPG slot allocation - channel 206. Channel numbers are subject to change.

- Flagged as the Entertainment Genre 

- Subscription codes added for M / Player / Mixit and above and for the basic, inclusive channels, pack for Stream devices.

- Added to 5 internal networks often used for pre-launch configuration.

   - Code Download Test (Portsmouth)

   - NGRHEE Bromley

   - NGRHEE Knowsley 

   - TTA Knowsley DMC (Hayes_RHE)

   - VM Paddington 

This appears to be an on-demand portal / slate. 

 

 

New FAST Services - Pre-launch Configurations: 

 

ID 2412 Inside Crime Dup -  FAST Channel Portal - Internal Networks Only

- The short EPG Name: InsideCrime

- Added to TSID   8 SID   835 on traditional cable networks.

- Pre-launch EPG slot allocation - channel 261. Channel numbers are subject to change.

 

ID 2413 HomesUnderTheHammerDp -  FAST Channel Portal - Internal Networks Only

- The short EPG Name: HomeUnderHa

- Added to TSID   8 SID   834 on traditional cable networks.

- Pre-launch EPG slot allocation - channel 262. Channel numbers are subject to change.

 

ID 2414 Inside Outside Dup -  FAST Channel Portal - Internal Networks Only

- The short EPG Name: InsideOutsi

- Added to TSID 21 SID  2115 on traditional cable networks.

- Pre-launch EPG slot allocation - channel 263. Channel numbers are subject to change.

 

For all three FAST channels listed above: 

- Flagged as the Entertainment Genre 
- Flagged as HD  

- Subscription codes added for the 4K versions of M / Player / Mixit and above and for the basic, inclusive channels, pack for Stream devices. (The 4k version blocks access to incompatible legacy TiVo boxes).
- Added to 1 internal network often used for pre-launch configuration.
   - Code Download Test (Portsmouth)

As these services are duplicates of existing FAST services they appear to be internal tests only. 

 

 

Note:

There is a fairly wide gap (11 services) between the ID numbers allocated for these services and those allocated previously. 

 

 

Closed Service: 

Channel 109 - ID 1548  Sky Showcase HD - Placeholder - End of Service

- PMTs & elementary streams (video, audio etc) removed. 

Winter Olympics Services - Moved to Placeholder EPG Slots: 

 

ID 2392  TNT Sports Olympics 1 - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2023 (releasing channel 527 for reuse).

 

ID 2393  TNT Sports Olympics 2 - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2024 (releasing channel 528 for reuse). 

 

ID 2394  TNT Sports Olympics 1 - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2025 (releasing channel 140 to Sky Sci-Fi HD).  

 

ID 2395  TNT Sports Olympics 2 - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2026 (releasing channel 141 for reuse). 

  

These pop-up services have been moved to placeholder channels, releasing the original channel numbers for re-use. 

 

 

Closed Service: 

Channel 109 - ID 1548  Sky Showcase HD - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2013 (releasing channel 109 to Sky One).

- End of Service and Placeholder flags have been added.
- Hidden from the EPG - Hide2 flag removed. 

- Sky2 flag removed. 

Sky Showcase HD has closed and been hidden from the EPG 

The end of service / placeholder flag combination preserves any recordings for a short period following a channel closure.  

This channel was scheduled for closure at 6am but was removed overnight by Virgin TV.

 

 

Renamed / Relaunched Service also Moved to New EPG Slot: 

Channel 109 - ID 2181  Sky One

- Formerly known as Sky Max 

- Moved to channel 109 (releasing channel 111 for reuse).

- PIN protection flag removed. 

Sky Max has been renamed / relaunched as Sky One, moving from channel 111 to channel 109 (released by Sky Showcase). 

 

Changed EPG Slots: 

 

Channel 121 - ID 2127  Sky Documentaries HD

- Moved to channel 121 (releasing channel 188 for reuse).

 

Channel 122 - ID 2083  Sky Crime HD

- Moved to channel 122 (releasing channel 121 to Sky Documentaries HD).

 

Channel 135 - ID 2125  Sky Nature HD

- Moved to channel 135 (releasing channel 189 for reuse).

 

Channel 140 - ID 1465  Sky Sci-Fi HD

- Moved to channel 140 (releasing channel 122 to Sky Crime HD).

 

Channel 156 - ID 1384  Sky Mix HD

- Moved to channel 156 (releasing channel 135 to Sky Nature HD).

 

Channel 322 - ID 1397  Sky Crime +1

- Moved to channel 322 (releasing channel 321 for reuse).

 

 

Closed Sports Services (Not on Stream): 

 

Channel 517 - ID   321  Sky Sports Action - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2020 (releasing channel 517 for reuse). 

 

Channel 537 - ID 2326  Sky Sports Tennis - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2022 (releasing channel 537 for reuse).  

 

For both services:

- End of Service and Placeholder flags have been added.
- Hidden from the EPG - Hide1 flag added. 

 

 

Channel 511 - ID   319  Sky Sports Main Event - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2014 (releasing channel 511 to Sky Sports Mix HD). 

 

Channel 512 - ID 1786  Sky Sports PL - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2015 (releasing channel 512 to Sky Sports Racing HD).  

 

Channel 513 - ID 1923  Sky Sports Football - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2016 (releasing channel 513 to Sky SportMainEventUHD).  

 

Channel 514 - ID   320  Sky Sports Cricket - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2017 (releasing channel 514 to Sky Sports F1 UHD).  

 

Channel 515 - ID   322  Sky Sports Golf - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2018 (releasing channel 515 to Sky Sports Ultra HD 1).  

 

Channel 516 - ID 1595  Sky Sports F1 - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2019 (releasing channel 516 to Sky Sports Ultra HD 2).  

 

Channel 518 - ID 1921  Sky Sports + - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to placeholder channel 2021 (releasing channel 518 for reuse).  

 

For the above seven services:

- End of Service and Placeholder flags have been added.
- Hidden from the EPG - Hide2 flag removed. 

 

Changed EPG Slots: 

 

Channel 405 - ID 2141  Sky Animation HD

- Moved to channel 405 (releasing channel 412 for reuse).

 

Channel 504 - ID 1922  Sky Sports + HD

- Moved to channel 504 (releasing channel 508 to Sky Sports Tennis HD).

 

Channel 505 - ID 1521  Sky Sports Cricket HD

- Moved to channel 505 (releasing channel 504 to Sky Sports + HD).

 

Channel 506 - ID 1770  Sky Sports Golf HD

- Moved to channel 506 (releasing channel 505 to Sky Sports Cricket HD).

 

Channel 507 - ID 1771  Sky Sports F1 HD

- Moved to channel 507 (releasing channel 506 to Sky Sports Golf HD).

 

Channel 508 - ID 2327  Sky Sports Tennis HD

- Moved to channel 508 (releasing channel 520 for reuse).

 

Channel 510 - ID 1769  Sky Sports Action HD

- Moved to channel 510 (releasing channel 507 to Sky Sports F1 HD).

 

Channel 511 - ID 1890  Sky Sports Mix HD

- Moved to channel 511 (releasing channel 510 to Sky Sports Action HD).

 

Channel 512 - ID   329  Sky Sports Racing HD

- Moved to channel 512 (releasing channel 519 for reuse).

 

Channel 513 - ID 2257  Sky SportMainEventUHD - Not on Original Tivo

- Moved to channel 513 (releasing channel 532 for reuse).

 

Channel 514 - ID 2259  Sky Sports F1 UHD - Not on Original Tivo

- Moved to channel 514 (releasing channel 533 for reuse).

 

Channel 515 - ID 2258  Sky Sports Ultra HD 1 - Not on Original Tivo

- Moved to channel 515 (releasing channel 534 for reuse).

 

Channel 516 - ID 2265  Sky Sports Ultra HD 2 - Not on Original Tivo

- Moved to channel 516 (releasing channel 535 for reuse). 

Winter Olympics Services - End of Service: 

Channel 140 - ID 2394  TNT Sports Olympics 1 - Placeholder - End of Service

Channel 141 - ID 2395  TNT Sports Olympics 2 - Placeholder - End of Service

Channel 527 - ID 2392  TNT Sports Olympics 1 - Placeholder - End of Service

Channel 528 - ID 2393  TNT Sports Olympics 2 - Placeholder - End of Service

- PMTs & elementary streams (video, audio etc) removed. 

- End of Service and Placeholder flags have been added.
- Hidden from the EPG - Hide1 flag added. 

The end of service / placeholder flag combination preserves any recordings for a short period following a channel closure.  

 

 

Temporary Rebrand:

- 1 movie channel with a promotional rebrand.

Temporary Rebrand:

- 1 movie channel with a promotional rebrand.

Temporary Rebrand:

- 1 movie channel with a promotional rebrand.

Temporary Rebrands:

- 1 movie channel with a promotional rebrand

- End of a sports channel seasonal rebrand with Sky Sports NFL channels reverting to Sky Sports Action:

Channel 507  -  ID 1769    Sky Sports Action HD     -  was Sky Sports NFL HD 
Channel 517  -  ID   321    Sky Sports Action           -  was Sky Sports NFL

The Sky Action reversion was scheduled for February 10th.

Inactive Transport Stream Marker - SDT Root Flags:

ID 2253  Channel Update  -  Inactive TS Marker - Scottish Networks

- SDT root flags show that the service is not running and not encrypted.

The run status of this service has changed back to running from not running

 

Completely reversing yesterday's change, as expected.

 

 

New FAST Service - Pre-launch Configurations:

 

ID 2396 World War TV  -  FAST Channel Portal - Internal Networks Only

- Short EPG Name: WorldWar TV 

- Added to TSID   8 SID   829 on traditional cable networks.

- Pre-launch EPG slot allocation - channel 232. Channel numbers are subject to change.

 

ID 2399 Nature Time -  FAST Channel Portal - Internal Networks Only

- The short EPG Name is the same as the service name.

- Added to TSID   8 SID   831 on traditional cable networks.

- Pre-launch EPG slot allocation - channel 248. Channel numbers are subject to change.

  

For both services: 

- SDT root flags show that the services are running and encrypted.

- Marked as the Entertainment genre.

- HD flags present.

- Subscription codes added for M / Player / Mixit and above and for the basic, inclusive channels, pack for Stream devices.

- Added to 5 internal networks often used for pre-launch configuration.

   - Code Download Test (Portsmouth)

   - NGRHEE Bromley

   - NGRHEE Knowsley 

   - TTA Knowsley DMC (Hayes_RHE)

   - VM Paddington

- PMTs and elementary streams have been added.

Not yet visible on the EPG as these services aren't in the NIT of customer facing networks.

Inactive Transport Stream Marker - SDT Root Flags:

ID 2253  Channel Update  -  Inactive TS Marker - Scottish Networks

- SDT root flags show that the service is running and not encrypted.

The run status of this service has changed from not running to running.

 

This appears to be a repeat of the change made a week ago which reversed out the next day.

The change has no impact on customers. 

FAST Service Removals:

ID 2356  Sky Artist of theYear  -  FAST Channel Portal - Internal Networks Only

ID 2357  Sky Sports Stories  -  FAST Channel Portal - Internal Networks Only

ID 2358  Sky Sports Classics  -  FAST Channel Portal - Internal Networks Only

ID 2359  Sky Sports Vault  -  FAST Channel Portal - Internal Networks Only

- All SDT & NIT data removed

These services have now been removed after existing as pre-launch configurations since November 25th 2024. 

The services failed to launch. 

Channel Closures - Housekeeping:

 

Channel 348 - ID 1751  TRUE CRIME +1        - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to dummy placeholder channel 2011. 

- The PMT and closure announcement video stream have been removed from TSID 11 SID 1108 on traditional cable networks.

 

Channel 371 - ID 1752  LEGEND XTRA +1     - Placeholder - End of Service

- Moved to dummy placeholder channel 2012. 

- The PMT and closure announcement video stream have been removed from TSID 4 SID 425 on traditional cable networks.

 

Both services: 

- Hidden from the EPG - hide 2 flags removed with hide1 flags left in place.

- SDT root flags have been updated to indicate that the services are Running and Not Encrypted - encryption removed. 

Housekeeping changes to remove the closure announcement slates and remove redundant streams and encryption. The services have been moved to placeholder channel numbers, releasing the original channel numbers for re-use. 

 

There was no analysis on Sunday February 8th, so this analysis covers the period from February 8th to February 9th. The slates were due to be hidden from the EPG on February 7th but analysis from that date shows that they were still visible. Secondary monitoring has confirmed that the PMTs and video streams were removed on the 9th. The slates may have been hidden on the 8th but this is not confirmed.

Change of Short EPG Name:

Channel 445 - ID 1909  Talking Pictures

- The short EPG Name has been changed back to TalkingPics

 

 

Inactive Transport Stream Marker - SDT Root Flags:

ID 2253  Channel Update  -  Inactive TS Marker - Scottish Networks

- SDT root flags show that the service is not running and not encrypted.

The run status of this service has changed back to running from not running

 

Completely reversing yesterday's changes.

Change of Short EPG Name:

Channel 445 - ID 1909  Talking Pictures

- The short EPG Name has been changed to TalkingPic (was TalkingPics)

 

 

Inactive Transport Stream Marker - SDT Root Flags:

ID 2253  Channel Update  -  Inactive TS Marker - Scottish Networks

- SDT root flags show that the service is running and not encrypted.

The run status of this service has changed from not running to running.

EPG Channel Numbers Changed:

 

ID 2362  Rakuten TV Top Movies  -  FAST Channel Portal - Not on V6 or Tivo

- Moved from pre-launch channel 446 to channel 460

 

ID 2363  Rakuten TV Action  -  FAST Channel Portal - Not on V6 or Tivo

- Moved from pre-launch channel 447 to channel 461

 

The pre-launch channel numbers of these services have been moved to their new channel numbers as the services are launched.

 

 

Winter Olympics Services - Launched: 

Channel 140 - ID 2394  TNT Sports Olympics 1

Channel 141 - ID 2395  TNT Sports Olympics 2 

Channel 527 - ID 2392  TNT Sports Olympics 1

Channel 528 - ID 2393  TNT Sports Olympics 2

These channels have launched and are now visible on the EPG.

 

 

New FAST Services - Launched: 

Channel 462 - ID 2388  Rakuten TV Drama  -  FAST Channel Portal - Not on V6 or Tivo

Channel 463 - ID 2387  Rakuten TV Comedy  -  FAST Channel Portal - Not on V6 or Tivo

Channel 464 - ID 2389  Rakuten TV Sci-Fi  -  FAST Channel Portal - Not on V6 or Tivo

These channels have launched and are now visible on the EPG.

 

 

Correction of Short EPG Name:

Channel 758 - ID   418  Gemporia

- The short EPG Name has been corrected to Gemporia. - it previously had a typo and was displayed as Gemopria. 

 

 

NIT Linkage Changes:

One extra configuration added to the Bristol 2 network.

These changes are beyond the scope of the blog but are related to the TiVo hardware support streams. 

New Services - Pre-launch Configurations - SDT Root Flags:

ID 2392  TNT Sports Olympics 1  -  Internal Networks Only

ID 2393  TNT Sports Olympics 2  -  Internal Networks Only 

- SDT root flags show that the service is running and has been encrypted. - Encryption added.

Encryption was added to the new elementary streams on February 2nd. 

Interestingly not changed for IDs 2394 & 2395. Nevertheless, these are currently encrypted. 

New Services - Pre-launch Configurations - Update:

ID 2392  TNT Sports Olympics 1  -  Internal Networks Only

ID 2393  TNT Sports Olympics 2  -  Internal Networks Only 

ID 2394  TNT Sports Olympics 1  -  Internal Networks Only

ID 2395  TNT Sports Olympics 2  -  Internal Networks Only 

- Now (theoretically) visible on the EPG. - Hide1 flags removed. 

Still not visible on customer devices as these services as still to be added to the NIT of customer facing networks.

 

Although not added at the time of the original observation, PMTs and elementary streams (video, audio etc were added during the day). The services are being prepared for launch.

 

 

Dummy EPG Channel Numbers Assigned:

 

ID 1484  TNT Sports HD Final  -  Pop Up Service - Inactive

- Moved from channel 527 to dummy channel 1897

 

ID 2055  Channel Update  -  Information Slate - Inactive

- Moved from channel 528 to dummy channel 1899 

 

The channel numbers of these inactive services have been moved to dummy channel numbers, avoiding a clash with the pre-launch Olympics channels. 

 

 

Temporary Rebrands:

- 1 movie channel with a promotional rebrand.

- 1 kids' channel reverting to its usual name following a promotional rebrand  

A service name reversion for a movie channel scheduled for today was not needed as Virgin TV had not recorded the temporary promotional rebrand. 

Virgin TV did not change the service name of one of the movie channels scheduled for a promotional rebrand today.