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Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
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Originally Posted by jfman
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From that report.
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The current DTT network that carries Freeview was built between 2007 and 2012 to replace the previous low power DTT network[footnote 4] that operated prior to digital switchover. It is forecast to have an effective usage until at least the early 2030s[footnote 5]. The Freeview platform remains popular with UK audiences because it is freely and widely available. It also supports a number of key policy outcomes which include:
a. Enabling reach of public service broadcasting (PSB): The DTT platform underpins the universal access requirements (to provide and ensure that services are available to all UK households) set out in PSB broadcasting licences and the BBC Charter and Agreement. The PSB multiplexes, including Multiplex 2, are required to reach 98.5% of UK households and currently these multiplexes provide 98.5% coverage across the UK. Data has shown that there is a higher level of viewing for PSB channels in ‘Freeview-only’ homes. Freeview continues to evolve to keep pace with changing technology and in 2015 introduced Freeview Play - a hybrid of live and on-demand services.
b. Greater choice for consumers: Freeview adds to the range of TV content services that cater to different consumer tastes and different means. There are approximately 11.3 million ‘Freeview-only’ households in the UK (c40% of all) and this category makes up the biggest proportion of all UK homes.[footnote 6] Freeview has a broad audience; however, in ‘Freeview-only’ households, its audience has traditionally been older and from lower socio-economic backgrounds compared to the audiences using pay platforms.
c. Contributing to competition in the TV market: Freeview is also important for competition in commercial television. A number of non-PSB channels rely on the DTT platform to support a wider reach; without it, these commercial services may become less financially viable, thereby limiting choice and plurality for households who cannot afford or do not want to subscribe to other content providers.
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Footnote 5
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In its Future of Free to View TV report 2014 (p.32), Ofcom considered that “the on-going importance of DTT and barriers associated to IPTV availability and take up could make a DTT switch-off unlikely until at least 2030. In addition Ofcom’s 2018 report on Public Service Broadcasting in the digital age (p.13) states “Our analysis shows that the DTT platform will remain uncontested for free-to-air TV for at least the next ten years”.
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