Freesat F.A.Q

Freesat launched in May 2008 offering 80 digital TV and radio channels, via a satellite.

For more on the Freesat service, which is a joint venture between the BBC and ITV, see our Freesat page.

This page contains answers to frequently-asked questions.

Freesat launch - Podcast coverage. Listen to our audio show for our overview of Freesat

How do I get Freesat?

Dish: If you don't have a satellite dish pointing to where Sky Digital's satellites are - you'll need to get a dish installed. Freesat will charge you £80 You need to have a satellite dish installed, if you don't already have one

Set-top box: You'll also need a Freesat Set-top box. See next question.

Freesat Installation loophole!

With Freesat, if you don't have a dish, it'll cost you £130 to get Freesat working (£50 for a basic box, and £80 for installation of a dish). However... Sky Digital are offering something called "Pay Once, Watch Forever", which offers over 200 channels, for just £75 - this includes installation and a Sky Digibox. You also get four months of Sky's pay-TV channels as a trial. So, here's what you do:

Get "Pay Once, Watch Forever" - dish and box for £75.
Watch the 200+ free channels plus the Sky subscription channels for 3 months, then tell Sky that you don't want to subscribe after the trial.
You can still use the Sky box for the free-to-air channels. If you fancy moving to Freesat (for their HD service), then you've already got a dish installed suitable for Freesat, and a spare satellite receiver.

You can only get "Pay Once, Watch Forever" if you've not had a Sky contract before.

Until end of May 2008: There's 10% off "Pay Once, Watch Forever" at Dixons using code SKY10 at the checkout. Click here.

What set-top box receiver do I need?

You'll need a special Freesat receiver. Set-top boxes capable of receiving Freesat became available in May 2008.

They are available from Comet, Currys, Argos and John Lewis. Boxes cost from £50 for a standard box, or £120 for a box capable of getting High Definition.

Click here for a list of Freesat receivers

Note that, at launch in May 2008, there are some box shortages.

Is there a PVR (disk-recorder) for Freesat?

When Freesat launched in May 2008, there was no PVR hard-disk recorder in their receiver lineup. Freesat PVRs are expected though - The latest rumour we've heard is that they'll be available from July/August 2008. Sign up to our newsletter for updates.

You can connect a Freesat recorder to a DVD recorder or video recorder. See our recording FAQ

I have a Sky satellite dish. Can I use this for Freesat?

Almost certainly, yes. As long as the dish is pointing in the same direction as the Sky satellites, all should be well. It certainly works for us.

Freesat channels

What channels are on Freesat? At launch, there are 80 channels of TV and radio available, and Freesat has announced that the target is for 200 channels. You can find a full Freesat channel list here: Freesat channels
What about Five? Channel Five, Five US and Fiver weren't available on Freesat at launch - this is because, at launch, they were still tied to an encryption contract with Sky Digital. This is expected to end in July 2008, and we can expect to see Five's channels on Freesat later in 2008.
Missing Freeview channels? There are a number of channels that you can find on Freeview (TV via an aerial not a dish), that surprisingly can't be found on Freesat. At launch, these were: Five, Five US, Fiver, Dave, Virgin 1, UKTV History, Sky Three, TMF, The Hits and Sky Sports News. At launch, these channels are being broadcast on satellite and could in theory be received on a Freesat box, but they're encrypted and so aren't available. The channels will need to turn off encryption, and may be tied to a contract with Sky. We're sure many of these channels will appear in due course.
Non-Freesat channels? See the other channels FAQ

Can I get other satellite channels

Yes - at least with some Freesat boxes. By default, the Freesat channel lineup is a closed list managed by Freesat - see our full channel lineup. However, there are more free-to-view channels available on the Astra and Eurobird satellites, and some Freesat receivers are capable of tuning in to other free-to-air channels.

The Humax Foxsat-HD Freesat receiver, for instance, is capable of tuning to other free satellite channels. See our Humax FoxSat FAQ for details on how to do this.

We had a scan to see what we could other, non-Freesat channels we could see. In May 2008, our scan revealed 370 TV channels and 106 radio channels. A small percentage of these channels were encrypted and not viewable - this is because the broadcaster may be in a commercial agreement with Sky that prevents them being shown free-to-air (this is known as Free-to-View), or because the channels are subscription channels and you need to sign up to Sky to get them.

We were able to access a stack of free-to-air channels from our Humax Foxsat, including:

Business Channel, Baby Channel, Wine TV, Film 24, UCB TV, Sky News, Nuts TV, Bloomberg, CNN, JJB Golf, Fight Network, Luxe TV (in HD!) and Rockworld TV. There were also quite a few religious channels, a stack of shopping and quiz channels, plus a collection of free-to-air adult tease channels (such as Babestation, Essex Babes and Playboy 1)

It's handy being able to switch between Freesat and Non-Freesat channels, for situations where a channel is not yet part of Freesat, or is a Freesat-only channel. Note that when scanning for non-Freesat channels, the numbering sequence will be a bit odd, and also they can't be accessed via the Freesat Electronic Programme Guide.

Scanning for non-Freesat channels on a Humax Foxsat

Can I record from Freesat?

Sure. If you have a DVD recorder or a VHS video recorder, it should be a case of connecting from one of the Freesat box SCART output sockets, into a Line In SCART socket on your recorder. All Freesat receivers support recording via their SCART sockets.

Recording HD content? Some Freesat receivers, such as the Humax Foxsat-HD support reception of High Definition content, but recording HD is not cheap. You'd need to buy a stand-alone Blu-Ray DVD recorder (likely to set you back £800!).

Freesat PVR / DVRs? Coming soon. See our PVR FAQ

Sky+ / Sky HD? We've been asked if you can use a Sky+ or Sky HD box to record Freesat. Seems the answer is "yes" - you can record the Free-to-air channels on a Sky PVR - however, note that if you're not a Sky subscriber, Sky will charge you £10 a month to use the Sky+ recording facility

Can I use my Sky box (or another receiver) to get Freesat?

We're not experts on this subject, but we can give you some information to help you out:

The Freesat service is broadcast from the Astra 2 satellites at 28.2° east and Eurobird 1 satellites situated at 28.5° east.

If you have a Sky Digital receiver - a number of channels are available without subscription, including many of the Freesat channels - see Sky's list

Freesat transmissions are not encrypted. Standard definition channels are transmitted in MPEG-2 ISO/IEC13818.

The Freesat receiver we're using, a Humax Foxsat, has a frequency range of 950MHz to 2150MHz. DiSEqC Control version 1.0, 1.2, USALS, SCD

Presumably, if your dish is capable of being pointed at the right satellites, and your receiver can cope with the Freesat specs, you'll be able to get the Freesat channels.

What you won't be able get though, is the Freesat Electronic Programme Guide and any other services offered by Freesat, as this is specific to the Freesat software. Additionally, you'll be unlikely to get Freesat HD. Can you help add to this answer?

If you need more advice, ask in our Freesat forum

Which satellite does Freesat use?

Freesat broadcasts from the Astra group of satellites positioned at 28.2º East and the Eurobird satellite at 28.5º East above the Equator.

If you're in the UK and are working out where to point your satellite dish to get Freesat, this varies depending on where in the country you are. You'll find that the dish needs to be pointing at a compass heading somewhere between 139 and 147 degrees (i.e. South- East) at an elevation of between 18 and 26 degrees.

I'm outside the UK. Can I get Freesat?

Freesat is intended for the UK only. When you first connect a Freesat receiver, you're prompted for a valid UK postcode, but as the box has no data connection back to a control centre, there's no way that the satellite knows where you are.

In theory, if you have a dish pointing at the Astra 2 satellites at 28.2° east and Eurobird 1 satellite situated at 28.5° east, you should be able to see Freesat. It's worth noting that many of the channels are on the Astra 2D satellite, which has a smaller footprint and is much harder to receive outside of the UK.

If you want more help on this subject, best to ask in our Freesat forum

Freesat covers 98% of the UK. What about the other 2%?

Pretty much the whole of the UK is in the footprint of the Astra satellites - there are coverage maps here.

The main reason that the coverage isn't 100% isn't the footprint - it's the fact that it's not always possible to point a dish at the satellite. The dish needs clear line of sight to the satellites. The dish needs to be pointing at a compass heading somewhere between 139 and 147 degrees (i.e. South- East) at an elevation of between 18 and 26 degrees. In built-up areas, valleys, etc, this may not be possible. Additionally, some properties can't have a dish, or it's not practical to have one installed. A professional local dish installer can advise you.

How do I contact Freesat?

Address: 4th Floor, 58-60 Berners Street, London W1T 3NQ
Helpdesk: 08450 990 990

Got a question on Freesat? Contact us