Ministers warned turning off terrestrial TV would be ‘disaster’ | Politics | News
The campaigns demanded that the government to protect traditional television channels after the ministers confirmed that signals could be closed in 2034. Media Minister Stephanie Peacock warned that more viewers are not more appropriate, as digital terrestrial television, also known as FreeView, is transmitted to the services provided over the internet. However, he insisted that there was no decision that the publications had not ended.
Campaigns Silver Voices Director Dennis Reed said, “If there is only an early transition to internet TV in the next decade, something less will be acceptable than the continuity of FreeView and Folk Publications.
A former Scottish Secretary of Conservative Deputy David Mundell said: “Terrestrial TV is very important – because it is universal. Indeed, it is the guarantee of universality in British publishing.
“To have terrestrial TV, constitutes the basis of universal access, complement the internet flow, the UK gives the best of both worlds. It is a much more robust hybrid model than putting all our eggs in a single basket and relying on a single failure point.”
And Elizabeth Anderson, the General Manager of the Digital Poverty Alliance, said: “terrestrial TV is not a luxury; a life line. Free universal access to news and popular content and a service that the government should protect.”
The existing legislation means that digital terrestrial television (DTT) is safe until 2034, but the government regulates whether it will finish after that. This means waiting for viewers to switch to internet protocol television (IPTV), which is not entirely with an air, but online.
MS Peacock, MPS more viewers trust the Internet, so terrestrial services have become less costly, he said. He said: “DTT is guaranteed until at least 2034. Before making any decisions, we will carefully discuss the difficulties for public service publishers, and more importantly, Sadık daily viewers, especially on digital terrestrial services.
“Publishers really want to focus on the content that reaches the masses. However, as digital terrestrial TV viewers fall, the cost per the audience increases and makes it difficult to maintain their distribution for large or small channels.”
“As less people trust DTT, the cost per house increases and will continue to do so. When some of the network reaches the end of life, I am aware of the visits and meetings with the providers that will be needed to continue the current services.”
The Minister said: “I say that no decision is taken, I say that these are complex issues.” He said.
Peacock also admitted that the end of terrestrial services would have a special impact on older people.
“We know that there are groups of people with higher probability of exclusion. They usually live in older, rural areas, they can be in low income or a disabled person.
