
“By Spring next year, viewers in England will be able to receive BBC One HD for their region and not have to tune away to watch their local news and programming,” explained BBC director of distribution Kieran Clifton. “This, coupled with upgrades to BBC channels that aren’t currently available on some devices in HD, will mean viewers will get a more easily accessible, better quality experience when watching BBC programmes from early next year.”
However, in order to deliver the HD improvements to viewers with Freesat and Sky devices, the BBC will be making some changes which will mean local programmes will no longer be available in standard-definition.
The new announcement follows the roll-out of regional versions of BBC One HD on newer internet-connected platforms including Sky Glass, Virgin Media Cable and Stream platforms and more recently BT’s TV Box Pro and TV Box Mini.