Winter Hill TV Transmitter
Located at Winter Hill, Lancashire. Broadcasts UK Freeview on channel group Group A wideband, horizontal polarisation, at 100 kW.
The short answer
The Winter Hill transmitter is one of the UK's main Freeview broadcast sites. It serves an estimated 6,300,000 people across 8 counties. Second most important UK transmitter. Highest TV transmitting antenna in the UK at 778m above sea level.
Technical specifications
- Location
- Winter Hill, Lancashire
- Channel group
- Group A wideband
- Polarisation
- horizontal
- Power
- 100 kW
- Mast height
- 309.5 m
- Latitude
- 53.6256°N
- Longitude
- 2.5147°W
Multiplexes (MUXes) carried
Winter Hill broadcasts the following Freeview multiplexes. Each MUX carries multiple TV channels.
- BBC A
- D3&4
- BBC B HD
- SDN
- ARQ A
- ARQ B
Counties served
This transmitter is the primary Freeview source for the following counties:
Towns served by Winter Hill
57 UK towns receive their primary Freeview signal from this transmitter:
- Accrington
- Alsager
- Altrincham
- Ashton-under-Lyne
- Birkenhead
- Bispham
- Blackburn
- Blackpool
- Bolton
- Bootle
- Burnley
- Bury
- Chester
- Chorley
- Colne
- Congleton
- Crewe
- Crosby
- Darwen
- Ellesmere Port
- Fleetwood
- Formby
- Huyton
- Kirkby
- Knutsford
- Lancaster
- Leyland
- Liverpool
- Lytham St Annes
- Macclesfield
- Manchester
- Middlewich
- Morecambe
- Nantwich
- Nelson
- Neston
- Northwich
- Oldham
- Ormskirk
- Poynton
- Preston
- Rochdale
- Runcorn
- Salford
- Sandbach
- Skelmersdale
- Southport
- St Helens
- Stockport
- Tameside
- Trafford
- Wallasey
- Warrington
- Widnes
- Wigan
- Wilmslow
- Winsford
What aerial works on Winter Hill?
The transmitter broadcasts on Group A wideband with horizontal polarisation. Most modern wideband aerials will receive this transmitter, but a group-specific aerial gives better signal-to-noise where there's known interference. If you're in a known black spot or fringe area, a high-gain Yagi may be needed.