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Analogue television in the United Kingdom


Analogue television in the United Kingdom includes terrestrial, satellite and cable services that were broadcast using analogue television signals. Following the termination of Virgin Media's analogue cable television service in Milton Keynes in November 2013, all television in the United Kingdom is broadcast in digital only.

Analogue terrestrial television in the United Kingdom was, traditionally, the method most people in the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man used to receive television. It was phased out and replaced by digital terrestrial television between 2007 and 2012 on a region-by-region basis. Before the switchover, some people struggled to receive the digital transmissions as power levels were very low from some transmitters.

When Direct-To-Home satellite broadcasting first came to the UK, there was competition between Sky Television and BSB, each which used competing technologies. Sky used the already common PAL picture format, and shared space on the Astra 19.2°E Pan-European cluster of satellites, whereas BSB used D-MAC carrier modulation, a bespoke system designed by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). Alongside this, at the heart of the BSB advertising campaign was the 'Squarial', a diamond-shaped flat Satellite antenna, much smaller and (supposedly) aesthetically pleasing to the eye, unlike the 80CM dishes that were supplied by Sky. By developing such a bespoke system, BSB was significantly more expensive than Sky Television's satellite offering, and sign-up rates to BSB were low. Only 6 months after launch, the two companies merged to form British Sky Broadcasting, moving all customers to the cheaper, but inferior Astra and PAL system.


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