--- title: "UK DPP — Programme Delivery (AS-11)" description: "UK DPP programme delivery: −23.0 LUFS ±0.5 LU non-live, ±1.0 LU live, true peak recommended below −3 dBTP and failing above −1 dBTP, with 4 LU minimum dialogue separation." canonical_url: "https://elephantaudio.pk/reference/uk-dpp" type: "Article" date_modified: "2026-09-19T02:06:04.588Z" publisher: "Elephant Audio" publisher_url: "https://elephantaudio.pk" source_kind: "published-standard" source_url: "https://assets-corporate.channel4.com/_flysystem/s3/documents/2023-03/ProgrammeDeliverySpecificationFile_DPP-Channel4_v5.2.pdf" source_fetched_at: "2026-09-19" entities: - name: "Lahore" type: "City" same_as: - "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11739" - "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahore" - name: "Pakistan" type: "Country" same_as: - "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q843" - "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan" author: name: "Abu Bakar Zahid" role: "Founder, Managing Director & Music Producer at Elephant Audio" url: "https://elephantaudio.pk/founder" same_as: - "https://www.linkedin.com/in/abubakarzahid94" - "https://www.youtube.com/@AbuBakarZahid" - "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12369947/" - "https://open.spotify.com/artist/1vsRY1hLmqEBXcx5xeKs0m" - "https://music.apple.com/us/artist/abu-bakar-zahid/1654787374" - "https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/190524117" - "https://on.soundcloud.com/EnpcD" - "https://www.instagram.com/abubakarzahid94/" - "https://www.facebook.com/abubakarzahid9400/" - "https://twitter.com/abubakarzahid94" - "https://soundsofpakistan.com/artist/abu-bakar-zahid/" person: "Abu Bakar Zahid" person_same_as: - "https://www.linkedin.com/in/abubakarzahid94" - "https://www.youtube.com/@AbuBakarZahid" - "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12369947/" - "https://open.spotify.com/artist/1vsRY1hLmqEBXcx5xeKs0m" - "https://music.apple.com/us/artist/abu-bakar-zahid/1654787374" - "https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/190524117" - "https://on.soundcloud.com/EnpcD" - "https://www.instagram.com/abubakarzahid94/" - "https://www.facebook.com/abubakarzahid9400/" - "https://twitter.com/abubakarzahid94" - "https://soundsofpakistan.com/artist/abu-bakar-zahid/" --- # UK DPP — Programme Delivery (AS-11) ## What does UK broadcast programme delivery require? UK DPP requires non-live programmes at −23.0 LUFS ±0.5 LU and live at ±1.0 LU. True peak is recommended below −3 dBTP, and content fails if it exceeds −1 dBTP. Loudness Range should not exceed 18 LU, factual speech 6 LU, with a minimum 4 LU separation between dialogue and background. −23.0 LUFS non-live (±0.5 LU — half of EBU's tolerance) · ±1.0 LU live and as-live (the wider allowance) · −1 dBTP true-peak FAIL (−3 dBTP is only the recommendation) · 4 LU dialogue separation (minimum, dialogue above background) The tolerance is the thing to notice: The target is −23.0 LUFS, the same figure as EBU R 128, which invites the assumption that a file passing one passes the other. It does not follow. UK DPP allows ±0.5 LU on non-live programmes — half of R 128's ±1.0 LU — and reserves the wider ±1.0 LU for live and as-live. ⚠️ So a programme sitting 0.8 LU from target is inside the European recommendation and outside the UK delivery requirement. This is the most common way a file that “meets R 128” comes back from a UK broadcaster. The requirements, as written: From the DPP delivery requirements table: - Programme Loudness, non-live: −23.0 LUFS ±0.5 LU. - Programme Loudness, live including as-live: −23.0 LUFS ±1.0 LU. - Maximum True Peak: recommended not to exceed −3 dBTP. Content will fail if the maximum true peak exceeds −1 dBTP. - Loudness Range: programmes should aim for an LRA of no more than 18 LU. - Dialogue: speech content in factual programmes should aim for an LRA of no more than 6 LU. - A minimum separation of 4 LU between dialogue and background is recommended. ⚠️ True peak is two numbers, and only one of them rejects a file: The specification recommends staying below −3 dBTP and fails content above −1 dBTP. Those are different thresholds doing different jobs, and summaries that quote a single figure lose the distinction that actually decides whether a delivery is accepted. The practical reading: −1 dBTP is the wall. −3 dBTP is the margin that keeps a file off it after transcoding, which is why it is recommended rather than required. The dialogue rule, which is unusual and useful: Most delivery specifications say nothing about the relationship between dialogue and everything underneath it. This one does: a minimum separation of 4 LU between dialogue and background is recommended, and factual speech should hold a Loudness Range of no more than 6 LU. That is a mix instruction rather than a measurement threshold, and it is the closest thing in any specification examined here to a written rule about intelligibility. It also means a mix can satisfy every loudness number and still be marked down on delivery for burying its dialogue. Sources: - Channel 4 — Programme Delivery Specification, DPP AS-11 files (PDF) — UK DPP File v5.0 – 2017, Channel 4 File v5.2 – 2022. Every figure here. Read 2026-09-19.: https://assets-corporate.channel4.com/_flysystem/s3/documents/2023-03/ProgrammeDeliverySpecificationFile_DPP-Channel4_v5.2.pdf - AMWA AS-11 UK DPP HD — the file format specification — The shim specification the delivery requirements sit on top of.: https://amwa-tv.github.io/AS-11_UK_DPP_HD/AMWA_AS_11_UK_DPP_HD.html ## Frequently asked questions ### If a file meets EBU R 128, does it meet UK DPP? Not necessarily. Both target −23.0 LUFS, but UK DPP allows only ±0.5 LU on non-live programmes against R 128's ±1.0 LU. A file 0.8 LU from target satisfies the European recommendation and fails the UK requirement. ### What true-peak level actually fails a UK delivery? Above −1 dBTP. The −3 dBTP figure commonly quoted is the recommendation, not the fail threshold — it exists to leave margin so a file does not end up on the wall after transcoding. ### Is the 4 LU dialogue separation a hard requirement? It is written as a recommendation rather than a pass or fail number, alongside a target Loudness Range of no more than 6 LU for factual speech. It is nonetheless the clearest written rule about dialogue intelligibility in any spec covered here, and worth mixing to. ## Related - [The European recommendation, with the wider tolerance](https://elephantaudio.pk/reference/ebu-r128/raw) - [The short-form supplement for adverts and promos](https://elephantaudio.pk/reference/ebu-r128-s1/raw) - [What to ask for from an audio post house](https://elephantaudio.pk/guides/audio-post-deliverables/raw) - [Mixing and mastering to a delivery target](https://elephantaudio.pk/services/mix-master/raw) ## Studio - **Studio:** Elephant Audio — Lahore, Pakistan - **Founder:** Abu Bakar Zahid — Founder, Managing Director & Music Producer at Elephant Audio - **Website:** https://elephantaudio.pk - **Contact:** abubakar@elephantaudio.pk