Ofcom Has Plans Ready For Four Freeview HD Channels

Ed Richards, Ofcom chief executive, has said that the regulator has plans in place which would allow up to four HDTV channels to be broadcast on the DTT platform.

Richards, speaking to the Broadcasting Press Guild, said that public broadcasters had been seeking extra capacity following switchover and so Ofcom’s proposal had not been met with universal acclaim.

Richards said that a reshuffle of the existing DTT line-up, coupled with new compression technology, could free-up capacity for HDTV channels.

A report on Broadcast TV News quoted Richards as saying: “The whole point is that we can use spectrum space more efficiently.

“There is a debate about how much you can squeeze in, we’ve got a view, but we have commissioned some independent research which we will make public in due course. We genuinely believe that you can get four HD channels.”

At the recent Institute of Economic Affairs conference on the Future of Broadcasting, Richards gave a keynote speech where he said that Ofcom would do everything it can to help public service broadcasters create an HD presence on the DTT platform using existing spectrum (see Ofcom Still Considering HD On Freeview).

Prior to this, Ofcom had already announced that it would look at the public interest case for freeing up analogue spectrum for HDTV (see Ofcom To Look Again At HD On Freeview).

Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk