Spike/5USA LCN swap
omnidirectional
Posts: 18,816 Forum Member
✭✭
Taken from http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/spike-tv-to-launch-with-breaking-bad/5085435.article
Spike launches in April and will air on Freeview channel 31, the slot which previously housed 5USA. The US-themed channel [will move] to slot 21, replacing Viva.
0
Comments
This channel will be niche like TruTV.
A sad end to channel 21 started as TMF in 2002. 13 year run as a music chnanel despite very quickly not becoming much of a music channel.
They haven't moved it. Spike is a new channel, not a rebrand of Viva. LCN rules.
You mean if BBC 3 goes online only! Who is to stop the BBC moving BBC 4 to LCN 7 & LCN 8 being nabbed by local TV in Wales and Scotland? That is if BBC 3 closes!
Channel 5 could try and claim the current local TV in Wales and Scotland LCN in that scenario which I think is LCN23?
The BBC will still want LCN 7 if BBC Three closes for BBC One+1.
You would thought Viacom would have moved 5* to LCN 21 as some of Viva's programming is moving there with Spike launching on LCN 30.
That's moving to a more prominent LCN.
By moving VIva to 31, then closing it, they can reclaim 31 for Spike due to it being next to 5*. and keep LCN 21 of course.
Then they could switch them later I suppose?
I can't find the link now, but the BBC Trust's report on the launch of BBC One+1 says they won't use LCN 7, but will take the first available slot at the "back" of the grid. I would imagine this is a purely 'political' decision to placate commercial rivals,
More likely that Viva will go down to 74, with a Spike placeholder on 31. That way they can claim they are shuffling their channels into a more logical order and retain use of 21, before removing Viva days later.
Then shuffle 5USA and Skike to opposites later meaning Spike could get the better number later?
Spike looks a bit rubbish, too. Breaking Bad as its flagship show? It's a great series but there are hills that are younger.
Probably LCNs in the 790s will be involved.
Usually changes occur in the 11am-1pm sort of window. Looks likely now to happen on the day itself, although if it was me in charge I would have insisted on the Spike LCN being added as a placeholder already.
Or 'Olympus' which has only just premiered on US TV so is still a bit of an unknown quantity.
I was in Sainsburys recently (other supermarkets are available), and in their DVD section I noticed that they had all 5(?) series of "Breaking Bad". I contemplated purchasing them, but decided that I did not really want to add drama about drug addiction to my DVD collection, no matter how highly-rated that drama is. But I will set up my Humax to record it.
-- from CyberSimian in the UK
Not if you do as I do and flick back frpm 101 ;-)