UK consumers are still uncertain about the digital switchover, with a new report from consumer group Which? finding that 38% of respondents don’t know about the government’s plans to turn off the digital signal.
According to the study, just 7% knew that the switchover will be completed by 2012, while as many as 9% of respondents claimed they would rather give up TV than make the switch.
Commenting on the findings, Malcolm Coles, editor of which.co.uk, said: “We’ve found that awareness of the digital switchover is alarmingly low, especially when you consider the first region to be switched over is in just two years times.”
The report also found that half the people surveyed did not realise that they would need a set-top box, cable or broadband or satellite dish to watch TV once analogue has been switched off.
Research published by Ofcom earlier last year confirms the lack of consumer knowledge over the switchover, revealing that less than a third of UK consumers have heard of the term “digital switchover” with a significant proportion not knowing where to turn to for advice (see UK Public Unaware Of Impending Digital Switchover).
This lack of knowledge is mirrored within the television industry, with a study from the London Business School and Video Networks claiming that more than 50% of television industry executives feel that the government is not doing enough to educate and communicate with consumers about the digital switchover (see TV Executives Call For Clear Switchover Strategy).
At the end of last year, Ofcom released figures detailing the expected cost to the UK consumer of the digital switchover, claiming that late adopters of digital technology will have to pay a collective sum of up to £572 million in order to prepare themselves for the impending digital switchover (see Consumer Costs Of Digital Switchover To Hit £572 Million).
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