[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by Chris

It depends on the extent to which the channel is themed. For the commercial PSBs plus BBC1 and 2, it’s a very significant difference because they are all generalist channels. For what we used to call digital multi channel tv there’s generally a lot less difference because the channels are already heavily themed.

The biggest noticeable shift *if* we went streaming only would be in pubic service tv. These operators would have to decide whether their channel brands could survive the change and how useful they would be as indicators of what they were offering. Does a BBC ONE brand, for example, make any sense if you’re not looking for something that was broadcast on BBC1, but rather a decent drama that could have been on any one of their channels?

I should add that it’s in this area the “streaming only” argument is weakest because I think it underestimates the usefulness and the popularity of a curated schedule. Plenty of people don’t know exactly what they want and are happy for the controller of a channel brand they trust to decide for them.

I agree with your explanation of the difference between categories and channels. And that has been my point all along - when channels are IPTV only, differentiating, say, BBC 1 and BBC 2 will be pointless. Pulling all the game shows, documentaries, films, dramas etc into their appropriate categories makes much more sense.

As for broadcast TV, its days are limited.

https://rxtvinfo.com/2022/what-happe...cleared-for-5g

[EXTRACT]

Will any further TV frequencies be cleared for 5G or other mobile services?

That’s under consideration. Next year, delegates from around the world will attend the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-2023), where this is an agenda item.

The WRC is organised by the ITU, a United Nations agency. At their conferences, decisions are made over the global use of frequencies and which services should use them. There are three ‘regions’, the UK, EU and Africa are in region 1. Some, particularly in the mobile industry, are pushing for further TV frequencies to be made available for mobile services. This would bring region 1 in line with region 2, which includes the USA and Canada. Here, the 600 MHz band is already used for mobile services, with terrestrial TV increasingly shunted into the VHF band.

Others want region 1 to adopt a shared use for the remaining TV frequencies, allowing them to be used for a variety of technologies. TV and PMSE (Programme Making and Special Events) would no longer have exclusive rights. There is great opposition, with African Union countries demanding no change to current usage. European broadcasters also object. Ofcom hasn’t yet confirmed its position.

But whichever decisions are made, the UK will have to abide by them. That’s why there is ongoing uncertainty over the future of terrestrial television beyond 2030.

Beyond 2030

All new multiplex licences will contain a revocation clause, which can be activated from 31st December 2025 giving the multiplex operator five year’s notice. Effectively, this means that viewers would get five years to some point in the 2030s that their TV service is being switched off. If the licences are not prematurely revoked, then they will expire naturally in 2034.

Other countries are pushing for 5G Broadcast to replace the current digital terrestrial TV service. It could use the current terrestrial transmitter network to deliver an open-access signal to all types of device. However, the UK has not signalled any push to 5G Broadcast or any other alternative. By 2034, TV frequencies may not been needed for anymore 5G services, but 6G.