Freeview televisions across the UK stopped working on Tuesday evening, leaving hundreds of viewers unable to watch the Great British Bake Off final. The outage, which began around 8pm BST, was most heavily reported in southern England, though northern areas were also affected.
Freeview, the UK's most watched digital TV service used by approximately 19 million homes, attributed the disruption to high pressure weather systems interfering with TV and radio signals. The company stated on its website that it was 'unable to remedy' the issue, as such atmospheric conditions are beyond their control.
Frustrated viewers took to social media to complain, with many noting the unfortunate timing during the popular baking show's finale. One user tweeted, 'now if NOT THE TIME FOR FREEVIEW TO GO DOWN #gbbo', while others reported poor signal quality lasting more than 12 hours in some areas.
Reports on DownDetector indicated that channels including BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, and Channel 5 were affected on both HD and standard definitions. Signals began to return during Wednesday afternoon, but some users in Essex reported continued issues as late as 7am.
