Almost a third of people living in the UK who have yet to get digital TV say that they never will, making the Government’s plans to switch off the analogue signal within a decade “fatally flawed”, according to a report released this week.
The report, published by the Consumers’ Association, acknowledges that for 73% of the 26% of the population who have adopted digital the extra channel choice was a major incentive, but that this will not be sufficient to convince many non-adopters.
“Consumers have shown that the overwhelming reason to switch to digital is more channels, but that many will reject digital TV for precisely the same reason,” says Adam Scorer, senior public affairs officer for the Consumers’ Association.
The survey found that of those who have yet to switch to digital, 48% say that they would only want to watch the free-to-air channels after switch-off and 66% had not even considering switching. Half of retired non-adopters who were aware of digital TV said that they would never switch.
The Government has set a minimum penetration target of 95% and a minimum digital signal coverage target of 99.4% before analogue switch-off can occur. The issue of people being left without television because they cannot or will not pay for digital equipment could potentially cause great difficulty for the political party in power when switch-off happens.
Presenting the report Scorer accused the government of creating a “forced march to analogue switch off”, and suggested that capital gain is driving this: “The benefits of another spectrum windfall for the Treasury and a captive market for the industry must be balanced with a vision for ensuring that all consumers will reap the benefits of digital convergence,” he insisted.
The Consumers’ Association report also revealed a further problem of misinformation. It found that when both adopters and non-adopters of digital TV were questioned about whether they would need to pay for the five terrestrial channels after analogue switch-off, only 29% knew that they wouldn’t. Furthermore, 47% of UK adults who were aware of digital TV and around a quarter of those who had already switched to digital, felt they did not know enough about its benefits.
Scorer called for a “rethink” in the plans for delivering a digital UK, saying, “The Government needs a digital switch-over policy that allows consumers to switch to digital easily, affordably and because they want to.”
