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Satellite dishes: some must now be readjusted to receive BBC channels
Thousands of digital TV viewers have been left without BBC channels after the corporation's plan to save money by taking its channels out of BSkyB's digital satellite system backfired.
The digital satellite viewers lost access to the BBC's channels after it switched to a new satellite last week.
Households are now facing a bill of £65 for a trained engineer to realign their satellite dishes before they can receive BBC channels again.
However the BBC insists the problem is not its responsibility and it will not reimburse viewers.
"Sky has confirmed to us that because our signal complies with their technical standards, the problem is with people's [dish] installation," a BBC spokesman said.
"It's going to be necessary for a qualified dish installer to visit them. The dish just needs to be realigned by a couple of degrees," he added.
The BBC has moved its eight digital channels - including BBC1, BBC2, BBC3 and BBC News 24 - from the Astra 2A satellite to Astra 2D to ensure overseas viewers cannot pick up its channels when it comes off Sky's conditional access system.
If it did not make the switch, the broadcaster could face problems over programme rights when it begins broadcasting "in the clear" or unencrypted.
But because the signal from the new satellite is much weaker, many viewers have found they can no longer receive the BBC's channels.
A Sky spokesman played down the scale of the problem. "Only a very tiny proportion of satellite viewers have reported any difficulty in receiving the BBC services," he said.
"In most cases their viewing was restored quickly, after receiving technical advice from our call centre, without the need for a service call out."
In March the BBC announced it was pulling out of its conditional access agreement with Sky, claiming the move would save £85m over five years.
Sky and the BBC are currently waiting for the independent television commission to rule on whether BBC1 and BBC2 can retain the first two slots, 101 and 102, on Sky's electronic programme guide when they quit the conditional access system.
The BBC channels were due to go in the clear from tomorrow - May 30 - but the move has been put back by a month after Sky agreed to give the corporation another month on its existing conditional access deal while the ITC comes to its decision.
Thousands of digital TV viewers have been left without BBC channels after the corporation's plan to save money by taking its channels out of BSkyB's digital satellite system backfired.
The digital satellite viewers lost access to the BBC's channels after it switched to a new satellite last week.
Households are now facing a bill of £65 for a trained engineer to realign their satellite dishes before they can receive BBC channels again.
However the BBC insists the problem is not its responsibility and it will not reimburse viewers.
"Sky has confirmed to us that because our signal complies with their technical standards, the problem is with people's [dish] installation," a BBC spokesman said.
"It's going to be necessary for a qualified dish installer to visit them. The dish just needs to be realigned by a couple of degrees," he added.
The BBC has moved its eight digital channels - including BBC1, BBC2, BBC3 and BBC News 24 - from the Astra 2A satellite to Astra 2D to ensure overseas viewers cannot pick up its channels when it comes off Sky's conditional access system.
If it did not make the switch, the broadcaster could face problems over programme rights when it begins broadcasting "in the clear" or unencrypted.
But because the signal from the new satellite is much weaker, many viewers have found they can no longer receive the BBC's channels.
A Sky spokesman played down the scale of the problem. "Only a very tiny proportion of satellite viewers have reported any difficulty in receiving the BBC services," he said.
"In most cases their viewing was restored quickly, after receiving technical advice from our call centre, without the need for a service call out."
In March the BBC announced it was pulling out of its conditional access agreement with Sky, claiming the move would save £85m over five years.
Sky and the BBC are currently waiting for the independent television commission to rule on whether BBC1 and BBC2 can retain the first two slots, 101 and 102, on Sky's electronic programme guide when they quit the conditional access system.
The BBC channels were due to go in the clear from tomorrow - May 30 - but the move has been put back by a month after Sky agreed to give the corporation another month on its existing conditional access deal while the ITC comes to its decision.
