I've just heard this week that the satellite which allows us expats to view UK TV is being changed and the footprint of the new one will be smaller, i've been told there's a strong chance that a lot of us won't be able to view UK TV anymore.
Has anyone heard anything about this and more importantly do you know how we can carry on watching?
Pam, ironically, I have lost my Freesat somehow and cannot get it back. However, there have been lots of rumours for a year or so. Sky is paid for and people with it here also pay, so they would lose subscribers. Ultimately the issue is about people out of the UK not paying licence fees for public broadcasting, in other words BBC. Since the licence fee does not contribute to commerical television and all or any other commercial broadcasters then there are problems in the proposition. So, whilst the footprint has already been reduced, in fact the question is still being asked but no clear information coming back as yet. The new Astra 2F is up and broadcasting since last November and not this month as some people have heard, so people in Spain and Portugal have already lost what they had that was a pretty iffy signal anyway. Until there is official and precise information it is all speculation.
One of the things that makes it absurd is that online suppliers like Filmon are an alternative that make the proposition and absurdity. Plus, for it to work as alleged the largest numbers of viewers outside the UK are in the Pas de Calais anyway and if the footprint was reduced there then everybody north of Lancashire roughly would be excluded too. We know the government is out of touch, but if they are that dozy then....