Digital Switchover Gets October Start Date
The start date for the digital switchover has been announced today by Digital UK, with Whitehaven and the surrounding area of Cumbria having BBC Two switched off on October 17 this year.
Speaking today, Ford Ennals, chief executive of Digital UK, said that the remaining three analogue channels will be switched off four weeks later on November 14.
The two-stage process will then be repeated across the UK until switchover is completed in 2012.
To help consumers cope with the imminent move to digital, letters are being sent to every household in Whitehaven and the surrounding switchover area explaining the Digital Switchover Help Scheme, which will provide digital television equipment and installation to people aged 75 and over and those with certain disabilities.
Also unveiled today was the latest Digital UK communications campaign, which includes new television and radio trails, sponsorship of Channel 4’s afternoon quiz show Countdown and a schools scheme providing primary teachers with switchover-themed materials linked to the National Curriculum.
Ennals said: “Switchover has been years in the planning and with today’s announcement it becomes a reality. Today, for the first time, we can provide details of exactly how the process will be carried out not just in Whitehaven but across the UK.”
Broadcast Minister Shaun Woodward added: “The countdown to a digital future has begun. In October, Whitehaven will start the process of digital switchover. Residents will be able to reap the benefits of a greater choice of TV channels and better quality pictures and sound.
“Arrangements are in place to ensure Whitehaven residents get the help and support they need. This will help to ensure the UK switch to digital is as smooth as possible.”
However, at this morning’s press briefing, it became clear that once Whitehaven had completed the process, residents of the historic coastal town would only be able to access around half of the channels carried by Freeview. Ennals pointed out that this was at least significantly better than the current availability in the area.
It also became clear that once switchover was completed, around 10% of the UK would not be able to access all of the channels available on Freeview, getting just the core offering. “We think it’s a substantial offer,” stated Ennals.
Both Ennals and Woodward were keen to stress the focus on helping the over 75s and the disabled with switchover, which Ofcom estimates to cost around £100 to £130 per household. Ennals also admitted he felt that affordability was not an issue for most people in the UK and that the awareness of switchover and the desire to convert were growing at a healthy rate.
In addition to the Countdown sponsorship, schools focus, help scheme and other marketing strategies, the Government and Digital UK will roll out a programme to reach landlords to help them understand the process. Digital UK will also put a heavy emphasis on extracting research from each step of the complex process, measuring Whitehaven’s success as it essentially represents ‘1,000th of the UK’.
The pair were confident that Whitehaven would be a success. “There’s no going back from this,” said Woodward of the start of the roll out in the Cumbrian port. “Nobody in Whitehaven will be left behind,” added Ennals.
It also became clear that the analogue switchoff would free up space for other services, such as mobile television and HDTV. The broadcast minister said the Government was “mindful of public service broadcasting obligations” in regard to companies bidding for the space. “We must not set in stone what we will do with the [newly released] spectrum,” he added.
Yesterday, Ofcom released their latest Digital Television Progress Report, which showed that more than one million UK households converted to digital television in the fourth quarter of 2006 (see More Than A Million UK Homes Switch To Digital TV In Q4 ’06).
Recently, a survey revealed that five in six adults were unable to name the exact year their region will see the analogue signal switched off. It also showed that over half of the country thinks that the Government has not done enough to make sure people are kept informed of developments with digital switchover (see Five In Six Don’t Know Analogue Switch-Off Date).
Digital UK: www.digitaluk.co.uk