Press Office

New Report Shows Good Progress Towards Digital Switchover

DCMS41/03 4 April 2003

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell today applauded the progress made by industry towards achieving the Government’s aim of switching over to digital television by 2006 – 2010.

And responding to a joint ITC/BBC report Progress Towards Digital Switchover, she stressed the Government would take the necessary steps to ensure that the challenging target is met.

The report shows that take up of digital television - at 40 per cent today – could almost double over the next five years.

The report lists Government policy interventions that could be taken to increase take-up if progress is slow.

These include:

• The announcement of a firm switchover date
• The mandating of digital decoders in new televisions;
• A co-ordinated public information campaign;
• A public commitment to certain high levels of DTT coverage after switchover;
• Growth of a “free” satellite market as a result of public service channels broadcasting in the clear on digital satellite.

Tessa Jowell said:

“I welcome this report. It underlines how well the market has done by itself in driving forward digital take-up. It is to be applauded for this.

“Doomsayers may suggest we won’t meet the target. I would say to them that if industry can make this much progress on its own, anything is possible. The strong take-up since the launch of Freeview shows digital television is a product the public wants.

“But we are not complacent. This is very much work in progress. The Government interventions suggested by the ITC and BBC are options we are already looking at. I believe Digital TV is the future and if we in Government have to play a more forceful role to boost its take-up, rest assured, we will do.”

The report states that there is much optimism in the marketplace about the future of Freeview and that early data is encouraging. As further data becomes available throughout the year, firmer projections will be able to be made. The Government is accepting the ITC and BBC’s recommendation that forecasts are updated in March 2004, when more than a year’s worth of data on Freeview take-up will be available.

The report focuses on a five-year period to assist planning for digital switchover later in the decade. Owing to the inevitable uncertainty stemming from a re-launch of the DTT platform, the ITC and the BBC have suggested a take-up range for the next five years, from 58 per cent to around 78 per cent at the upper end of expectations.

The aim of the research is to consider the progress to date in the development of the digital television market and to help consider how long broadcasting of analogue services should continue for.

Notes to Editors

1. The report Progress Towards Digital Switchover, carried out by the Independent Television Commission and the BBC on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, plus further information about the Government’s initiatives relating to digital switchover, can be found at www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk

February 2004

As you may know, in May last year, the BBC decided to move their broadcast services from the Astra 2A satellite to the Astra 2D satellite and to enable consumers to receive BBC services "in the clear" - without the need for a viewing card. However, this new agreement ended payment by the BBC to BSkyB for the provision of "Solus" viewing cards to digital satellite viewers who do not have a subscription to a pay-TV service. A side effect of this decision placed future access to the free-to-view commercial channels (ITV, Channel 4 and Five) on the satellite platform in some doubt as they were unable to ensure sufficient funds could be found to bridge the substantial financial gap. BSkyB were not prepared to fund supplying new viewing cards to "Solus" card viewers - unless a free-to-view broadcaster, other than the BBC, agreed to pay for replacement cards.

In October, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced that following some intense and lengthy negotiations between ITV, Channel 4, Five and BSkyB a resolution to the matter had now been agreed. The agreement enabled consumers to continue receiving the commercially funded public service channels on a free-to view basis. It covered all the digital satellite consumers who did not have a subscription to a pay-tv service (whether they had since the beginning chosen to be free-to-view consumers ("Solus" card viewers) or had stopped subscribing to BSkyB (churners).

The thrust of the deal involved existing "Solus" card holders (and churners) being offered new cards for a one-off purchase cost of £20 (plus VAT). The new cards were guaranteed until the end of December 2005. However, this deal was only available until 31 st January 2004 and the option of receiving ITV, Channel 4 and Five through digital satellite equipment without subscription is no longer available. The cost of funding the cards was met by ITV, Channel 4 and Five and was only intended to be available to those viewers who were about to lose their free to view channels. Therefore the option to purchase viewing cards was only available for a limited time.

Existing free to view satellite customers were informed through on screen messages on the affected channels. The department wrote a letter explaining the situation and how to purchase a card, to all MP's and members of the public that contacted us and we also put a statement up on our digital television website, which included the last date the cards could be purchased.

We understand that the broadcasters have no current plans to provide solus cards to new satellite customers. However, the Government remains committed to ensuring that analogue terrestrial broadcasting signals are maintained until everyone who can currently get the main public service broadcasting channels (BBC1 and 2, ITV1, Channel 4/S4C and Five) can receive them free-to-view via at least one of the digital platforms.

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