Sir Peter Bazalgette says the digital terrestrial television service should be kept for the foreseeable future, given dangers to infrastructure.
Speaking at this week’s Voice of the Listener and Viewer’s Jocelyn Hay Lecture, the former ITV chairman also expressed concern at how foreign owned providers are increasingly controlling how public service media (PSM) content is made available to viewers.
He asked delegates the question on how PSM can survive in an era when when their TV services are mostly streamed via foreign owned internet platforms? BBC iPlayer, All4 and the imminent ITVX all have to negotiate carriage with the likes of Amazon, Apple, Samsung and LG, as well as Sky and Virgin.
He noted that these companies were able to “take PSM revenue and withhold PSM viewer data, in the largely unregulated arena of the internet.”
Regarding digital terrestrial TV – the platform carrying Freeview – he warned that infrastructure is under threat in the world.
He said:
I think we should definitely keep DTT, transmitting digital TV to our aerials free, for the foreseeable future. It’s a matter of national resilience. It won’t have escaped your notice that there’s a war in Europe at the moment. A key gas pipeline has already been sabotaged. Are internet cables or satellites the next target? The international infrastructure of our digital age is one of its greatest boons, but also one of its greatest vulnerabilities. It would be a foolish government indeed that surrendered an alternative information network. You only have to think of the critical messages that needed to get out during the Covid crisis to realise we should keep the DTT spectrum for the PSM’s but also as a matter of resilience. This is a valued service for many, bringing them a range of channels beyond just the PSM’s.
Sir Bazalgette’s full speech is available to download from the VLV website. The speech is also available to watch on YouTube. He was chairman of ITV until the end of last month, ending a six year period in the role and nine years on the board at the broadcaster.
Context
Next year, discussions will take place at the World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-23) that will determine how frequencies currently used for terrestrial TV can be used going forward beyond 2030.
In the UK, the Government has previously indicated it wants current multiplex licences to be able to be extended until 2034. But the licences will have a revocation clause effective from 2030, allowing services to be cut short if needed.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport previously consulted on the matter. In its response BT spoke in favour of an all IP-delivered universal basic television service that would replace Freeview. Sky also expressed objections.
Transmitter company Arqiva launched a campaign earlier this year to lobby for the retention of free-to-air terrestrial TV. Similar campaigns are taking place in continental Europe. In some countries, broadcasters and regulators are looking at migrating terrestrial TV to 5G Broadcast. 5G Broadcast effectively provides the option to offer a free-to-access and unmetered network for viewers and listeners to access audio and video content.
On Sir Bazalgette’s comments about national infrastructure: Arguably, terrestrial TV towers could also be affected by a hostile element. But satellite would be an easier target, as this could be disrupted from outside of the UK and instantly affect every Sky and Freesat household. Internet outages could also be more widespread than the coverage area of a single transmitter. And of course, an obvious target would be playout and distribution centres. Last year’s Channel 4 outage proves how easy it could be to knock a channel off-air. Ofcom has since ordered public service broadcasters to improve their disaster recovery plans.
Iain Hatton