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IPTV and TV guide times in United Kingdom

Use your actual Freeview region or broadcaster app to identify the edition before you change a UK television guide.

IPTV Complete Forum editorial desk

When the right channel shows the wrong news

Start with the bulletin title. A set labelled BBC One can carry a neighbouring regional bulletin if the aerial has tuned to the transmitter it hears best. Freeview’s postcode checker helps identify the region and channel list expected at an address. Run it privately. In a support post, a town and the regional edition usually give enough context to begin.

Now look at the input. An aerial-connected TV and an internet app choose their feeds in different places. A rescan can change what an aerial receiver stores. If an app supplies the picture, check its region or service selector and the publisher’s schedule. If the app shows the correct bulletin while the tuner picks up another one, focus on reception and stored region.

SymptomFirst place to lookWhat to bring to support
Neighbouring bulletin on the TV tunerFreeview channel checker and stored regionTown, broadcaster, two region names
National feed in an appPublisher app’s edition selector and dated programme guideApp, device and exact feed label
A different episode in catch-upEpisode title and original air dateSeries and edition, plus playback mode
Same one-hour error across several channelsReceiver time zone, then source time stampsProgramme start, expected zone and observed zone

Use London time on the actual date

An illustrative 19:00 London listing is 15 Jan 2026, 19:00 UTC on the winter sample date and 15 Jul 2026, 18:00 UTC on the summer sample date. If a spring change affects every channel in the same direction, compare the original timestamp with the receiver's zone. One wrong regional bulletin at the right time points back to the edition choice.

For a subscription decision, list the actual use case, such as local news tonight, an earlier episode or a live match. Check the rights-holder or broadcaster for that use in your location, then check the device and any separate subscription. UK TV Licensing publishes the rules for watching live TV and using BBC iPlayer. Use that source for the current licence requirements.

A support note you can write in two lines

BBC One shows the neighbouring bulletin on my aerial tuner at the expected time. The broadcaster app on the same TV shows my usual edition. I checked my area using the Freeview checker. That tells the next reader where you received the picture, what changed and which path still works.

United Kingdom · GB

Use the local programme and station ID together. The catalogue records BBC Persian as BBCPersian.uk in United Kingdom.

Check the local source in United Kingdom

Freeview explains how transmitter overlap can cause a neighbouring regional service to appear in an over-the-air guide. That is a useful check when the television receives the wrong regional bulletin.

Use the official postcode or address checker to identify the intended Freeview region. Record the selected BBC or ITV region before comparing a replay or an internet-delivered channel.

Identify the exact station in the guide

Sample identities associated with this source country. Confirm the broadcaster's current local edition.
Station in sourceCatalogue identifierRecorded group or siteCategory
BBC PersianBBCPersian.ukBBCnews
DAZN 2DAZN2.ukAndrea Radrizzanisports
BBC OneBBCOne.ukBBC Televisiongeneral
Cartoonito MENACartoonitoMENA.ukCartoon Networkanimation, kids
Master Chefs Academy TVMasterChefsAcademyTV.ukIUOAMCcooking, education
MTA3 Al-ArabiaMTA3AlArabia.ukMuslim Television Ahmadiyya Internationalreligious

For BBC Persian, check bulletin title, local edition and air time. If your source uses a different identifier from BBCPersian.uk, use the source’s actual channel field for the mapping.

Convert a programme to the source clock

The same 20:00 wall clock in Europe/London gives different UTC times in January and July. It is 15 Jan 2025 · 20:00 UTC in January and 15 Jul 2025 · 19:00 UTC in July.

Calculated historical examples. Use the actual date and IANA location for a real listing.
IANA location examples20:00 local on 15 January 202520:00 local on 15 July 2025
Europe/London15 Jan 2025 · 20:00 UTC15 Jul 2025 · 19:00 UTC

Audio and captions

Keep the regional service qualifier in your notes. A local edition and its national service may both have English programme titles.

Which device and account details should you check?

  1. Use the broadcaster's own market listing for United Kingdom when checking a current app, subscription or rights question.
  2. Look up the app publisher and exact TV or box model in the local device store. Check live versus replay features and separate app charges.
  3. For a schedule issue, save the exact channel ID, programme title, local date and time zone without sharing account or playlist details.

Browse channel references for United Kingdom

Channel references to check

Find the exact local station

The channel finder contains 227 station records for United Kingdom in this edition. Each result opens the catalogue ID and local guide example for that feed.

Search this market in the channel finder

Sources and further reading