Three million people in the UK have Freeview

The incident happened after Top Up TV prepared to add new channels to more than three million Freeview boxes.

However, some boxes were unable to cope with the new information and suffered from channel loss as a result.

Set-top box manufacturers are working to restore lost channels, which included BBC One and BBC Two.

Other channels affected included Sky News, Sky Travel and UK History.

Top Up TV co-founder Ian West said that the problem was caused by the digital boxes themselves.

Memory

"A small number of boxes that were sold very cheaply couldn't cope with the new channels being added," he said.

"There is a whole range of boxes out there and most of them are very good but a small number have been affected."

According to Freeview, the affected boxes only had enough memory to store 50 channels and were unprepared for the arrival of more.

"We are aware of reports that a small minority of Freeview viewers have lost access to some channels following the addition of new channels to the digital terrestrial platform," a spokesperson told BBC News Online

"We understand the manufacturers of the boxes concerned are working to rectify the problem."

Top Up TV will allow Freeview viewers to add extra channels, including E4 and UK Gold, to their current channel line-up for a monthly fee.

It is separate from the Freeview service, and is due to launch at the end of March.