Hartlepool households warned of TV interruptions as final tests on new Bilsdale mast begin

People have been warned of a “small possibility of minor interruptions to TV services” while tests of the North Yorkshire Moors mast take place.

The majority of viewers will not notice any difference when the new mast goes live, as its antenna uses the same channels and frequencies as the temporary tower.

But fewer than 0.5% of households serviced by the new mast may not automatically benefit from its signals when it is switched on.

Adrian Twyning, chief of operations at Arqiva, said: “Testing of the new mast will begin shortly and while that may cause a few minor interruptions in service there is no action to be taken at this time.

“We will announce the exact date of the switch on shortly and the bilsdalemast.co.uk website will offer help and advice for anyone who may need support to restore their TV services.”

Mast operator Arqiva is advising households that they do not currently need to take any action as the final preparation and testing is carried out.

Following go-live, if a household cannot receive channels 1–5, in at least standard definition, a retune or rescan is recommended. Advice will also be available online at bilsdalemast.co.uk.

A small number of households may lose HD services temporarily, but these channels will be available in standard definition and will return when additional antenna are installed on the mast.

The original Bilsdale Mast was demolished after a fire in August 2021 left it damaged “beyond repair”.

TV viewers in Hartlepool were among those to suffer disruption.