Bidders queue for NHK’s EPG slot

The Japanese public broadcaster has decided to run NHK World exclusively in HD in the UK from 30 September, following the launch of its HD channel on Sky and Freesat in May.

TV channel broker Canis Media is currently accepting “six-figure” offers from broadcasters to take over the vacant 518 position on the Sky EPG, on behalf of slot owner Information TV, and has generated “significant interest” since it started the process in late March.

A range of UK broadcasters have entered bids to secure a presence on the Sky platform and launch a non-news channel. Several international news broadcasters have also submitted bids.

Ed Hall, chief executive of Canis, said the content offered by the new slot owner would determine the final channel position. “The news category EPG slot attracts a premium price but a broadcaster can launch any UK-compliant channel they want. It’s then up to Sky to fit the channel into the genre they want.”

NHK World SD and HD both broadcast on Freesat 209, so no new slot has been freed up on that platform.

A spokeswoman for NHK said the decision to sell its SD channel reflected the adoption of HD. “It was not an easy decision, but we decided it was necessary to take cost-cutting measures,” she said.

“We are very sorry for those viewers affected, but as a public broadcaster, it was not realistic for us to maintain both the SD and HD channels in the UK. The decision is also based on the expectation that the HD channel will be increasingly popular, particularly in the UK.”

NHK estimates that 4.7% of consumers with access to NHK World - around 12 million in total - watch it at least once a week.

However, by shutting down the standard channel, the broadcaster is losing access to around 6 million potential viewers, the spokeswoman added.