Delay For The Digital Deadline
The Government has admitted that the deadline for the digital switchover could be delayed until at least 2010 due to the lack of consumer interest in digital TV.
A spokeswomen for the DCMS today conceded that the current 2006-2010 deadline was a “challenging target” and said: “Unless the uptake of digital TV improves by 2006/2007 we will need to review the current deadline and find out why people are not interested in the medium.”
She added: “We are conducting 2 yearly reviews to assess how the uptake of digital TV is progressing. The current 2006-2010 deadline is a challenging target that we hope to meet but our success depends largely on the public’s willingness to accept the new medium.”
According to the latest research from Ipsos RLS, over 11 million people in the UK say they will never get digital TV (see MRG One Day Conference: Fulfilling the Digital Vision). Less than 40% of UK households currently have digital and the analogue signal cannot be switched off until 95% of UK households have digital access.
The Government launched its Digital Action Plan last October to increase the quality, reliability and geographical coverage of digital TV in an attempt to make the switchover possible by the 2006-2010 deadline (see Government Launches Digital TV Action Plan). However, research conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres last November shows that over 50% of UK TV viewers don’t realise that the digital switchover is possible this decade, while 40% of the population plan to wait until the last minute to make the switch (see UK Public Unprepared To Foot The Digital Bill).
Set-top-box manufacturer, Pace Technology unveiled a new low-cost digital receiver recently to increase the take-up of digital TV in the UK (see Pace To Speed Digital Take-Up). However, the company, which has been at the forefront of industry initiatives to speed up the digital switchover, says that the Government needs to do more to push digital TV in the UK (see Manufacturers Push For Digital).
DCMS: 020 7211 6200 www.culture.gov.uk
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