A BBC-backed move to switch off Freeview TV signals is one step closer after the Government said there was a “strong case” for making the change as soon as 2034 as viewers shift to internet-only TV.
Costly terrestrial TV signals could be switched off within eight years as long as universal affordable broadband is made available to everyone, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said.
The plan, included in a green paper on the future of broadcasting, was welcomed by campaigners for switching off Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), who say the shift to online-only TV viewing is accelerating. Only a small number of households will be left without broadband by 2034 who would need additional help, they say.
However, the Government’s first public position on switch-off is a blow to opponents. They warn that killing Freeview, still used in 10 million UK homes, would force many elderly people and those on low incomes to take on expensive high-speed broadband contracts just to watch TV that they currently get for free through an aerial.
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