Digital TV Has Been Under-Promoted Says Broadcast Minister
The up-take of digital TV has increased by 10% over the last year to 40% of all UK households, according to figures published today by the DCMS. However, speaking at the Radio Academy’s annual Radio Festival this morning, Broadcast Minister Kim Howells said that the promotion of digital TV has been “very unsatisfactory”.
According to Howells, who was standing in for Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, claims made in the past about digital TV have been “over ambitious” and the industry needs to work harder to convince consumers of the value of the medium.
Howells said that the uptake of digital TV will be driven by content and emphasised that unless broadcasters work to nurture the creative and original programming there will always be a proportion of the population uninterested in digital TV. This reflects the findings of research by Taylor Nelson Sofres for Pace Micro Technology, which showed that content was a big factor in attracting new subscribers to digital TV (see DTT Bidders Must Listen To Consumers, Says Research).
He went on to criticise digital terrestrial services for being unreliable and said that the increasing sophistication of digital services would lead to the growth of the medium.
In terms of digital radio, Howells insisted that the demand for DAB digital sets would be driven by low prices. He said: “It seems now that there is real and significant movement on prices and that we are only a few weeks away from the point when a digital radio set is likely to be launched onto the high street for under a hundred pounds.”
Howells described the one hundred pounds barrier as an “important price threshold” and expressed his confidence in the demand for £99 digital radios.
Research carried out recently by digital radio consortium MXR shows that consumers prefer digital radio services to existing analogue broadcasts, favouring superior sound quality and greater choice above all (see Research Shows Digital Radio Is The Preferred Choice).
DCMS: 020 7211 6200 www.culture.gov.uk
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