NAO Claims Confusion Still Rife Over Freeview
An investigation by the National Audit Office has revealed continued confusion surrounding the Freeview digital TV service, claiming that the BBC has failed to significantly improve public understanding of the service, despite numerous high-profile campaigns.
The NAO report claims that the BBC’s campaigns have not yet succeeded in “significantly reducing consumer confusion about Freeview in non-digital households”, but concedes that more recent advertising has been “more effective” than earlier attempts in extending public awareness of the service.
According to the report, the Corporation now faces a battle to convince over 50% of non-digital viewers that the service is free. The NAO states: “While consumer take-up has been high, indicating that many have understood the concept, more than half of the remaining households that have not converted to digital believe that they have to pay a subscription in order to receive the BBC’s digital services.”
The report also concluded that more information needs to be given about the coverage of digital terrestrial TV, with confusion still rife amongst the public as to who can or can not receive Freeview.
The report stated: “The BBC could provide clearer information to licence fee payers about why they may be unable to receive BBC digital services through Freeview… There is still confusion among licence fee payers about why Freeview, which is funded partly by the licence fee, is not available to a quarter of UK households.”
However, the negative aspects of the report were offset by praise heaped on the BBC for its work towards digital TV switchover. The report found that: “The BBC had clear and sound reasons for investing in Freeview and that the BBC contributed significantly to the quick and successful launch. Since the launch of Freeview, take-up of digital terrestrial television has significantly exceeded the BBC’s projections and this has helped make progress towards digital switchover.”
A report from Amercian-based research firm IMS Research recently predicted an increase in Freeview receivers in the UK, with the advent of Freeview-ready DVD recorders. The company claims that the new products could boost the service’s audience with 1.8 million extra viewers by 2009 (see DVD Recorders Expected To Boost Freeview Numbers).
BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk NAO: 020 7798 7000 www.nao.org.uk
Recent Television Stories from NewsLine BSkyB Reviewing Future Of Music Channels After Shake-Up ITV Hails Euro 2004 A Success As Revenue Soars New Channel 4 Chief Executive Receives Warm Welcome
Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive