Ofcom pulls Five HD licence

Regulators Ofcom have revoked Five’s licence to launch an HD service on Freeview by the end of the year. This action has been taken after Five appears to have failed to provide information about when they will be in a position to launch some kind of HD service, or provide Ofcom with details about what HD content would be shown on the channels.

It appears that the licence for the fourth Freeview HD slot now reverts to the BBC , although it’s not clear if they’d look to launch a second HD channel, or if another broadcaster would step in. A fifth HD channel is set to become available in 2011 – and in theory, Five could try for an HD slot again – provided they’d be able to demonstrate that they could start a service in 2012.