Digital switchover dates in the United Kingdom

The digital switchover was the process by which analogue terrestrial television in the United Kingdom was replaced with digital terrestrial television. It is sometimes referred to as the "analogue switch off".

UK digital switchover dates

In the United Kingdom, the terrestrial switchover started on 17 October 2007 and was completed on 24 October 2012. Each group of transmitters within each TV region had its analogue broadcasts switched off at a certain point between those dates. The process was co-ordinated by an independent body, Digital UK (now Everyone TV).

Switchover guide

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Stage 1 – Known as DSO1 - Analogue BBC Two and low power digital Multiplex 1 switched off. High power Multiplex 1 switched on.
Stage 2 – Known as DSO2 - All remaining analogue channels and low power digital multiplexes switched off. Remaining high power digital multiplexes switched on.

Switchover dates

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These are the dates at which switchover took place in each TV region, as published by Digital UK.

Technical trial

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Transmitter(s) Area served BBC One, ITV1, S4C switched off
Ferryside Ferryside and Llansteffan communities in Wales (approx 1200 people in around 500 properties) 30 March 2005
^† BBC Two was not switched off until 19 August 2009 in conjunction with stage 1 of Ferryside's parent transmitter, Preseli. In addition, the digital multiplexes did not adopt their final transmission modes until switchover at Preseli in 2009.

Border

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Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 switched off)
Eskdale Green, Gosforth and Whitehaven Copeland 17 October 2007 14 November 2007
Selkirk[1] Scottish Borders 6 November 2008 20 November 2008
Caldbeck[2]
Relay transmitters

England:

Scotland:

North and Mid-Cumbria, and Dumfries & Galloway 18 June 2009 24 June 2009
^‡ Digital multiplexes from these three transmitters did not adopt their final transmission modes until switchover at their parent transmitter, Caldbeck.

Westcountry

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Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 switched off)
Beacon Hill
Relay transmitters
South Devon 8 April 2009 22 April 2009
Stockland Hill South-west Somerset, parts of west Dorset and south-east Devon, including Exeter 6 May 2009 20 May 2009
Huntshaw Cross North Devon 1 July 2009 29 July 2009
Redruth East Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 8 July 2009 5 August 2009
Caradon Hill Cornwall and Devon, including Plymouth 12 August 2009 9 September 2009

HTV Wales

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Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, ITV1, S4C, Channel 5 switched off)
Kilvey Hill[3]
Relay transmitters
Swansea 12 August 2009 9 September 2009
Preseli West Wales 19 August 2009 16 September 2009
Carmel South and central Wales 26 August 2009 23 September 2009
Llanddona North-west Wales, including Anglesey 21 October 2009 18 November 2009
Moel-y-Parc North-east Wales 28 October 2009 25 November 2009
Long Mountain East-central Wales 4 November 2009 3 December 2009
Blaenplwyf
Relay transmitters
Central and mid Wales 10 February 2010 10 March 2010
Wenvoe South-east Wales, including Cardiff 3 March 2010 31 March 2010

Granada

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Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 switched off)
Douglas
Relay transmitters
Isle of Man 18 June 2009 24 July 2009
Winter Hill Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and South Cumbria 4 November 2009 2 December 2009

HTV West

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Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 switched off)
Mendip Bristol, parts of Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire and Southern Gloucestershire 24 March 2010 7 April 2010
Ridge Hill (West) North Gloucestershire 6 April 2011 20 April 2011

STV North (Grampian)

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Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, STV, Channel 4, Channel 5 switched off)
Bressay
Relay transmitters
 
Pink banners on lampposts in Baltasound remind residents about the digital switchover in The Shetland Islands
5 May 2010 19 May 2010
Keelylang Hill
Relay transmitters
  • Burgar Hill HP
  • Burgar Hill VP
  • Pierowall
The Orkney Islands 12 May 2010 26 May 2010
Rumster Forest
Relay transmitters
Caithness 2 June 2010 16 June 2010
Eitshal
Relay transmitters
Lewis, Wester Ross, North West Sutherland and parts of Harris and Skye 7 July 2010 21 July 2010
Skriaig
Relay transmitters
Skye, Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and parts of Barra 14 July 2010 28 July 2010
Angus
Relay transmitters
Angus, Dundee, Perth and parts of Fife 4 August 2010 18 August 2010
Durris Aberdeenshire 1 September 2010 15 September 2010
Knockmore
Relay transmitters
Moray, Strathspey and parts of Easter Ross 8 September 2010 22 September 2010
Rosemarkie
Relay transmitters
Inverness and the Great Glen 6 October 2010 20 October 2010

Channel Islands

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Transmitter(s) Area served BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1, Channel 4 switched off
Frémont Point The Channel Islands 17 November 2010

The Channel Islands' transmitters carry three of the DTT multiplexes – BBCA, D3&4 and BBCB. BBCA carries the BBC's SD channels as elsewhere, the D3&4 mux carries ITVBe (which is on the SDN mux elsewhere) as of September 2022 in place of ITV1 +1 (which is not available on the islands), and BBCB carries BBC HD, BBC One HD and Channel 4 HD (ITV Channel Television does not broadcast an HD version of their services).

Due to close proximity to France, a multi-stage switchover was deemed impossible. Instead, the switchover was done in a single day. As such, all analogue signals were switched off at around 01:30, while digital signals were switched on at Frémont Point before 06:00 and at its relay transmitters before 15:00.[4]

STV Central

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Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, STV, Channel 4, Channel 5 switched off)
Torosay
Relay transmitters
South west Highlands and Islands 13 October 2010 27 October 2010
Darvel Parts of central Scotland, Argyll and Bute 11 May 2011 25 May 2011
Rosneath HP Rosneath
Rosneath VP
Relay transmitters
Craigkelly
Relay transmitters
Lothian, parts of Edinburgh and parts of Fife 1 June 2011 15 June 2011
Black Hill Glasgow, central Scotland and parts of Edinburgh 8 June 2011 22 June 2011

Anglia

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Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 switched off)
Sandy Heath
Relay transmitters
Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire 30 March 2011 13 April 2011
Sudbury
Relay transmitters
Parts of Suffolk and Essex 6 July 2011 20 July 2011
Tacolneston Norfolk and north Suffolk 9 November 2011 23 November 2011

Central

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Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 switched off)
Nottingham The Nottingham area 30 March 2011 13 April 2011
Bromsgrove The Bromsgrove area 6 April 2011 20 April 2011
Lark Stoke Stratford upon Avon area
Ridge Hill (Central) Herefordshire and south Shropshire
The Wrekin North Shropshire and south Cheshire
Waltham Parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and south Nottinghamshire 17 August 2011 31 August 2011
Fenton Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme 7 September 2011 21 September 2011
Sutton Coldfield much of the West Midlands
Oxford
Relay transmitters
Oxfordshire, parts of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire 14 September 2011 28 September 2011

Yorkshire

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Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 switched off)
Belmont Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire 3 August 2011 17 August 2011
Oliver's Mount
Relay transmitters
  • Humanby
The Scarborough area
Chesterfield
Relay transmitters
The Chesterfield area 10 August 2011 24 August 2011
Sheffield
Relay transmitters
  • Totley Rise
The Sheffield area
Emley Moor Most of Yorkshire 7 September 2011 21 September 2011

Meridian

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Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 switched off)
Hannington
Relay transmitters
Parts of Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey 8 February 2012 22 February 2012
Midhurst
Relay transmitters
Much of West Sussex 29 February 2012 14 March 2012
Rowridge
Relay transmitters
  • Bovington
  • Brading
  • Brighstone
  • Canford Heath
  • Cheselbourne
  • Corfe Castle
  • Donhead
  • Findon
  • Horndean
  • Luccombe
  • Lulworth
  • Luscombe Valley
  • Millbrook HP
  • Millbrook VP
  • Piddletrenthide
  • Poole
  • Poulner
  • Salisbury
  • Shrewton
  • Singleton
  • Sutton Row
  • Till Valley
  • Ventnor
  • Westbourne
  • Winterbourne Steepleton
  • Winterborne Stickland
Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, parts of Dorset, Wiltshire and West Sussex 7 March 2012 21 March 2012
Whitehawk Hill The Brighton area
Hastings The Hastings area 30 May 2012 13 June 2012
Heathfield East Sussex
Tunbridge Wells The Tunbridge Wells area
Bluebell Hill North Kent and south Essex 13 June 2012 27 June 2012
Dover South and east Kent

London

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Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 switched off)
Crystal Palace Greater London and parts of the Home Counties 4 April 2012 18 April 2012

Tyne Tees

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Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 switched off)
Bilsdale Teesside, County Durham and much of North Yorkshire 12 September 2012 26 September 2012
Chatton North Northumberland
Pontop Pike Tyne and Wear and County Durham
Transmitter(s) Area served Stage 1 date
(BBC Two switched off)
Stage 2 date
(BBC One, UTV, Channel 4, Channel 5 switched off)
Brougher Mountain
Relay transmitters
South West Northern Ireland 10 October 2012 24 October 2012
Divis
Relay transmitters
Belfast and the surrounding area
Limavady
Relay transmitters
North West Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland completed the digital switchover on the same day as the Republic of Ireland, with Northern Ireland switching off analogue transmissions shortly before midnight, and the Republic of Ireland shortly after 10am. Viewers in some areas are able to receive an additional multiplex of channels carrying RTÉ One, RTÉ2 and TG4. These are broadcast in DVB-T2, and despite not being in high definition, require a Freeview HD receiver. Viewers in much of Northern Ireland can receive these and other Irish channels directly from Saorview transmitters based in the Republic. As these are broadcast in MPEG4, a Freeview HD receiver is generally required, although a very small number of standard Freeview receivers are compatible. Almost all viewers in Northern Ireland are able to receive at least some channels from the Republic by one or both of these means.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Selkirk group next for switchover". 29 October 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  2. ^ "News & Star". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  3. ^ "Digital switchover for Wales unveiled". Digital Spy. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  4. ^ "Channel Islands' television goes digital". BBC News. 17 November 2010.
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