Expats with access to Freesat now have no access to BBC channels due to the long awaited satellite changes designed to be permanent, with Channel 4 leaving us sometime today, Friday 7th January.
It was expected that ITV channels will be moved yesterday, Friday, but many viewers still have ITV and associated channels. For those with Portuguese satellite systems, there is BBC World News, and the BBC Entertainment channel but that seems to be the total worldwide offering from Aunty Beeb.
Portugal, Spain, the British territory of Gibraltar and parts of France have been affected by this change, as have areas of Scandinavia.
This satellite change and repositioning is a result of copyright dispute over airing BBC channels outside the UK which would seem to be unavoidable if you are transmitting by satellite.
The easiest way for us mortals to see TV programmes now is via the Internet but with many expats suffering less than speedy connections, a communications upgrade may be necessary and new boxes, gismos and a connection to a monthly paid-for access service for anything approaching good picture quality.
The BBC, bless it, has ensured that its UK viewers have not been too inconvenienced and indeed now should have a better signal, but the corporation has spent no time at all in looking at charging methods for extra-UK viewers, most of whom would be happy to pay for the channels lost through licence or subscription.
The corporation's complaint that it receives no licence fees from viewers abroad is valid but it has done nothing to find a solution, deciding instead to simply withdraw the service. A payment option has not been offered and in typical BBC style there has been no consultation with consumers, many of whom pay a licence fee in the UK.
Many viewers have switched to http://www.filmon.com which has most of the missing channels listed and is available on your computer for free. A decent boradband connection is needed.
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