Millions of Brits might be enjoying the hot weather, but it appears the glorious sunshine could affect the weekend’s TV entertainment, including tonight’s Eurovision. It’s been confirmed that some homes are being hit with Freeview signal issues, and it’s all down to the weather.
Over the next few days, a band of high pressure will be stuck over the skies of the UK, and whilst that’s great news for topping up the tan, it’s terrible for your Freeview TV.
“High pressure can cause two potential problems,” the BBC explains.
“The first is that you receive a weaker signal, as the signal from your local transmitter is lifted higher into the sky. The second is that the signal from a distant transmitter interferes with your reception.”
The problems began yesterday and are expected to continue right through until Monday, May 19.
“Freeview viewers across the UK could see some disruption to their TV reception from Thursday the 15th to Monday the 19th May 2025,” Freevie said in a update.
“This is due to high pressure which could disrupt the TV signals which Freeview uses.:
Yes, it will be highly irritating for anyone wanting to enjoy some TV tonight or tomorrow but there is another alert from Freeview with the team telling homes to leave their TVs alone.
“You are advised not to retune your TV during this time – reception will be restored once the high pressure passes,” Freeview said.
There are ways to avoid these issues. Firstly, if you have an internet-connected telly with Freeview Play installed, you can simply switch to this online service rather than using the aerial.
Next, there is now a new alternative. Freely, which is owned by the same team behind Freeview, uses broadband to beam content to tellies rather than a standard over-the-air signal.
That means it isn’t affected by the weather and will continue to show pin-sharp content during storms and high pressure events. Freely offers access to over 40 channels with both live and on-demand content available to view.
You can even pause live telly, see what’s on now and next via the telly guide and get recommendations for new things to watch.
