UK To Lose Billions If HD Channels On Freeview Not Developed
The UK could lose between £4.1 billion and £15.6 billion in private and social value if high definition channels on the Freeview platform are not developed, according to research for the BBC.
Consultant Indepen said the loss included the cost to viewers in switching to other platforms to get HD as well as the impact of reduced audiences for public service content.
The estimate is contained in the BBC’s response to Ofcom’s consultation on its Digital Dividend Review, which proposes that all the spectrum liberated by digital switchover should be auctioned in 2008.
The BBC, a member of the HD for All alliance of public service broadcasters, consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers campaigning for some spectrum to be set aside for HD channels on Freeview, said consumers were buying equipment in order to receive HD services.
“To ensure its long-term future viability and to enable it to compete with other platforms, Freeview must be able to offer a critical mass of HD services,” said the BBC.
Additional capacity would be required to offer HD channels alongside the current Freeview line-up, but there was “no business model for free-to-air HD on DTT at this stage that could enable free-to-air broadcasters to sustain likely auction prices”.
The BBC submission says a minimum of one third of the liberated spectrum should be allocated to the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five to “enable them to launch a strong free-to-air offer: at least one DTT multiplex with universal coverage providing three HD channels”.
BBC director general Mark Thompson said: “If pure market mechanisms are applied to the whole Digital Dividend, our fear is that it will jeopardise the success of universal access to high quality public service broadcasting, free-to-air on all main platforms and also lead to an erosion of the digital terrestrial platform and its ability to compete.”
The HD for All campaign was launched last month, made up of a coalition of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sony, with the aim of getting high definition television made available on Freeview (see Campaign Begins To Get HD On Freeview).
At the moment there is not enough bandwidth available on the Freeview platform to support high definition channels.
Ofcom has argued that HDTV channels could be provided by public service broadcasters on existing spectrum, although the public service broadcasters say that this would only be possible by getting rid of existing services.
Once the move to digital has been completed in 2012 (see Digital Switchover Gets October Start Date), Ofcom intends to auction off publicly owned spectrum that will be released as a result of the digital switchover.
BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk Freeview: 08708 80 99 80 www.freeview.co.uk