BBC Worldwide Channels has said it will be making changes to the BBC Prime service this March and April. The channel will switch satellites from Hotbird 6 to Eurobird 9, and existing smart cards will be replaced.
BBC Prime will be available on both satellites for a short period of time prior to switching off the existing feed. The broadcaster will announce the change over date in the near future. “We are in the process of contacting local operators to instruct them to make the required adjustments and those customers who have a direct subscription with us should expect further details and instructions in the post in due course,” it says on the BBC website.
The change of encryption comes to no surprise as the version of Viaccess currently used has been compromised. At the moment, the BBC is also in the process of changing BBC Prime into a portforlio of four channels – BBC Entertainment, BBC Lifestyle, BBC Knowledge and CBeebies.