Surprised they bothered to make idents (assuming all of the new channels have them), these channels in retrospect feel so boring and soulless. Wish they would have done
more with Max and CMC, but knowing Foxtel these days I didn’t expect much.
Maybe these will replace the stingray channels?
Wasn’t it announced these will be the LiSTNR audio channels?
Yes
When is 7TWO going to be in HD?
Hopefully this year. All metro markets except Syd and Mel, as well as all ex-Prime markets and RQLD, have converted 7two to HD thus far.
Is Seven willing to supply the 7TWO HD feed to Foxtel though?
It comes through over the air TV. As in through the tuner part of the Fox box. So Seven doesn’t need to feed it to Foxtel.
Doesn’t Foxtel still have two allocate the number?
In Canberra, 7two still sits on the old SD channel number 156 but takes the HD feed off the air.
Sorry, I need to correct this. I got confused between how the multichannels got handled, which is a bit of a mess. So I’ve gone through my IQ box to see what has happened to them.
7two did move to 256. 7mate off-air is 257. Both off-air but can be changed to IP. 7mate also has an IP version on 157. 7flix is 158 (IP only). 7Bravo is 159 (off-air, can change to IP).
9Go is 162, 9Life is 163, 9Gem is 164. All off-air but have the option to switch to IP. 9Gem has an IP version on 264.
10 Drama is 166. 10 Comedy is 167. Nickelodeon is 168. All off-air but can be changed to IP.
The primary channels maintain an HD and SD channel number despite all being HD now. Both versions can be set to either off-air or IP.
Seven 107/207
Nine 100/209 (I’ve never understood what historical reason gave Nine 100, the lowest LCN, and not 109)
Ten 110/210
I think Foxtel stopped trying to make these make any sense some time ago. Probably too many markets doing too many different things for them to bother doing any more than just letting the boxes pick up whatever seems like the relevant service from wherever. I guess it’s too much work to bother changing LCNs by region any more.
The reason for 100 is that Packer had a 25% stake in Foxtel when digital started. I think it’s also the reason why Syd/Mel/Bris are up on the satellite, and that Nine were originally the only FTA being relayed in full digital instead of just sending through the analogue version.
When I upgraded to Foxtel Digital in December 2004, ABC & SBS were also in digital form on cable (e.g. aspect ratio could be set, had program listings). 7 & 10 were off the analogue feed I believe (e.g. no program listings). I assumed that ABC & SBS were also available on Foxtel via satellite.
ABC, SBS, and the Packer 9s were there on sat from either the start or a few months later, all were always on cable, but 7 and 10 analogue only. 10 went digital on cable Thursday 30th August 2007, and put up on the sat a few days later (widescreen only in Syd to start with). 7 digital on cable Thursday 14th February 2008, Syd sat by October, and Mel/Bris sat after August 2009 when D3 went up.
Saw this on ABC Help page tonight.
From Tuesday 22 July 2025, viewers using Foxtel’s legacy set top boxes will no longer have access to ABC free-to-air television channels via satellite.
What FTA channels will be left on Sat after that?
Looks like Foxtel’s going full DVB-S2 like Sky UK have been doing.
Has anyone else found the ‘And Just Like That’ ad that is currently airing on Foxtel incredibly loud, the volume is much higher than the channel content.
Yes!
And being played at the top and end of every break…