Cable Forum - View Single Post

**Hugh** · 26-08-2024, 12:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfman

Imagine a government project that slid ten years (well, we probably don’t have to imagine

) what would your confidence level be in it not ending up 15, or 20. If it even happened at all.

Well, as has been discussed previously in this thread, OFCOM believe there are three options, only one of which is switching of DTT altogether.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-an...a%20disability.

Quote:

Approaches to delivering universal TV in future
While we found that there is widespread support across the sector for TV services continuing to be available to all, with a strong offering from public service broadcasters, there is no shared view about how to achieve this.

A clear vision and careful planning for the long term are needed. We have set out three broad approaches. Each model has particular challenges and involves commercial or public policy trade-offs.

1. Investment in a more efficient DTT service – a more efficient, but full DTT service could be an option if audience scale and investment could be sustained over the 2030s. This option may well include supporting audiences with new equipment for more efficient broadcast signals.

2. Reducing DTT to a core service – the DTT platform could retain a minimum number of core channels – for example the main public service and news channels. This would mean viewers mainly using the internet to access TV services, while also maintaining infrastructure that could deliver radio or TV, including if there are internet outages. It could be done as a temporary transition to a fuller switch off or remain indefinitely as a provider of last resort.

3. Move towards DTT switch-off in the longer term – a planned campaign to ensure people are confident and connected with internet services, so DTT could be switched off. It would take careful planning to ensure universality of public service media, with support for people so that no-one is left behind. This could have wider benefits for digital inclusion in other areas of society.

Considering the needs of all audiences must be at the heart of any chosen approach, and our report today signals no preference for any particular option. In all cases, the broadcast and broadband industries would need to work with Government to set a common vision for how to deliver universal TV services in future, followed by detailed planning. An inclusive transition would take 8-10 years, so it is welcome that Government is considering these issues now so industry can be ready for any changes by the early 2030s.

It would be a brave Government/company that told 35% of the population that they could not continue watching TV in the manner they were accustomed to…

Quote:

In recent years there has been a radical shift in people’s viewing habits. TV is increasingly being viewed online, driven by the mass take-up of broadband, a range of different devices, new platforms and ways to consume content. The average person spent 25% fewer minutes per day watching broadcast TV in 2023 than in 2018.

The trend is expected to continue, with watching on scheduled TV channels through Digital Terrestrial Television and satellite forecast to drop from 67% of total long-form TV viewing in 2022, to 35% by 2034 and 27% by 2040. Much of that remaining viewing will be done by households that rely solely on DTT, which are more likely to include people who are older, less affluent or have a disability.