From early morning on Monday 22 May, most viewers’ TVs and set top boxes should automatically receive the new signals from the 300m tall structure. Any viewers experiencing blank screens should first perform a retune/rescan, and if problems persist call the Project Restore Helpline on 0800 121 4828.
Adrian Twyning, Chief of Operations at Arqiva, said:
The first steel panel was craned into place on the 7 September 2022 and now, just over eight months later I am delighted to be able to announce that a 300 metre mast at Bilsdale will once again provide TV signals to the region from Monday 22 May.
The team at Arqiva, and our suppliers and contractors, have been working tirelessly since the fire to restore services to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible and I can’t praise their efforts enough.
The unique nature of the structure, and the area it is in, presented some exceptional challenges which we have had to address. As we’ve said before, you wouldn’t choose to build the UK’s 12th tallest structure at the top of a hill on the North York Moors during winter but we committed to doing it as fast as possible and we have.
While we expect the vast majority of people to require no intervention in order to benefit from the new mast’s signals, if you experience loss of service from Monday we ask that you try a retune and if this doesn’t help, contact the helpline on 0800 121 4828.
Most importantly, those who have received a mailer from us in the past two weeks should be ready to call the helpline if a retune does not restore your TV services.
The priority for Project Restore has been to restore the core TV services from a permanent, full size mast and work will continue to bring the full range of additional services, including radio, back in service in the coming weeks and months.
A small number of households may temporarily lose HD services for a few weeks until additional antenna are installed. Viewers should note that these HD channels will be available to watch in Standard Definition.
