Ofcom To Look Again At HD On Freeview
Following on from comments made yesterday by Michael Grade that the government should ensure that HD signals are available through Freeview boxes, Ofcom has said that it will conduct more research into the popularity of HD channels on the platform.
Ed Richards, the Ofcom chief executive, said that the regulator is to look at the public interest case for freeing up analogue spectrum for HDTV.
This announcement comes after it was revealed that Freeview has now overtaken Sky as the main way for UK viewers to watch multichannel TV (see Freeview Overtakes Sky).
Speaking at yesterday’s Voice of the Listener and Viewer spring conference, Richards said that public service broadcasters have already been given a large amount of spectrum, which has so far been used to launch digital channels on Freeview.
Ofcom has previously said that it will not guarantee spectrum for HD channels once the digital switchover is completed in 2012 and that it wants to sell off the surplus spectrum to the highest bidder.
This has of course had broadcasters offering free-to-air services worried that they will be outgunned in any bidding war.
Also speaking at the Voice of the Listener and Viewer conference, Grade said: “We’ve seen off the digital divide, only to see a high-definition divide open.
“HD will only be open to those willing to pay. What an own goal.”
Recent research carried out for the BBC claimed that the UK could lose between £4.1 billion and £15.6 billion in private and social value if high definition channels on the Freeview platform are not developed (see UK To Lose Billions If HD Channels On Freeview Not Developed).
The BBC said: “To ensure its long-term future viability and to enable it to compete with other platforms, Freeview must be able to offer a critical mass of HD services.”
This research came shortly after the launch of the HD For All campaign, made up of a coalition of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sony, which aims to get HD channels on Freeview (see Campaign Begins To Get HD On Freeview)
Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk