ITV threatens to scrap analouge broadcasts

Mike 1972

tsi-news / TELE-satellite.com
UNITED KINGDOM

ITV THREATENS OF GOING DIGITAL
ITV is threatening to hand back its broadcasting
licence and make all its programmes, including
Coronation Street, available only to digital viewers.
Under radical plans being drawn up by chief executive
Charles Allen, millions of viewers would no longer be
able to see many of their favourite shows. ITV would
lose almost half its audience - but would save £450
million in costs. Quitting analogue broadcasting would
be a major step for ITV, Britain's biggest commercial
channel, which depends for most of its £2 billion
revenue on advertising income based on reaching a mass
audience. However, a majority of UK households now
have access to digital television, which has been
given a tremendous boost by the rapid growth of
Freeview. The digital service now reaches four million
homes. Allen, who is in dispute with industry
regulator Ofcom, wants to end ITV's obligation to pay
the Government £200 million a year for its analogue
franchise. It also has to spend £250 million each year
on public service broadcasting, including a commitment
to regional and religious programming. ITV's licence
allows it to broadcast to all viewers, including those
without digital television, in England and Wales.
Without it, ITV would be carried only by Rupert
Murdoch's BSkyB, cable TV operators and Freeview.
Allen is now understood to have told Ofcom that unless
the burden of the licence and the public sector
broadcasting commitments are substantially reduced or
eliminated, he will regard it as uneconomic to
continue as an analogue broadcaster.

Ummm this is the channel that originally refused to have anything to do with $ky digital !!!!

Surely if they do this theyll loose their right to a 103 EPG slot ?

mike65

Sounds like a fairly obvious ploy to rid themselves of the "analogue levy" which is arguably well beyond its sell-by date anyway, the UK government has plans to switch off all analogue broadcasts within 10 years or something does'nt it?

Mike.

Doubt that they would do this.
A simple emergency change to the broadcasting act and they are snookered.

Mike 1972

But as I say they would loose their right to a prime (103) EPG slot along with "must carry" status on freeview and cable and be reduced to the status of being just another satellite channel peddling mindless gameshows and moronic soaps

Plus OFCOM could just turn around and offer ITV's licence (Complete with 103 slot and must carry status) to someone else and im sure there would be plenty of takers since it was ITV themselves who bid so much for the licence in the first place.

ITV just think they can play silly beggers because OFCOM by allowing Carlton and Granada to buy up most of the bigger franchises have let them become too big for their boots

zilog_jones

Meh, no great loss if ITV's stupidity leads to a miserable death of the channel. I can live without yet another channel of boredom. I hope they bring down TV3 with them too!

Richard

Mike 1972 wrote:

But as I say they would loose their right to a prime (103) EPG slot along with "must carry" status on freeview and cable

Would they, though? Since the Governmant wants to encourage the analogue switch-off, they could easily change the law to ensure that all ITV loses is analogue broadcasts.

Though I can imagine that the non-ITV plc regions could be upset - especially UTV as they rely on analogue to reach many of its Southern viewers. Channel, too, as Freeview hasn't launched there and I don't think the islands have cable.

and be reduced to the status of being just another satellite channel peddling mindless gameshows and moronic soaps

Would we notice a difference?

Slightly unfair, I know, but this could happen within the next 5 years. I wonder whether the govt would even bother to re-advertise.

Mike 1972

Would they, though? Since the Governmant wants to encourage the analogue switch-off, they could easily change the law to ensure that all ITV loses is analogue broadcasts.

Yes but as ITV also seem to be intent on abandoning all their public service obligations there is little justification for letting them hold onto the EPG slot or mustcarry status

The ITV regions not under the control of Granada/Carlton could in theory continue to provide an analouge service although it could become a bit messy if they still have to comply with the public service obligations and the network arrangments with the "rebel ITV regions" could become impractical

AFIK The Channel Islands do have Cable in some places

Richard

Mike 1972 wrote:

Yes but as ITV also seem to be intent on abandoning all their public service obligations there is little justification for letting them hold onto the EPG slot or mustcarry status

Well I imagine they could probably come up with some sort of fudge.

Mike 1972 wrote:

The ITV regions not under the control of Granada/Carlton could in theory continue to provide an analouge service although it could become a bit messy if they still have to comply with the public service obligations and the network arrangments with the "rebel ITV regions" could become impractical

Yes, I think that the public service obligations will go for all regions or stay for all regions, regardless of analogue switch-off

Mike 1972 wrote:

AFIK The Channel Islands do have Cable in some places

I still imagine islanders would be annoyed. In fact, the population of the British Isles in general isn't quite ready for an analogue switch-off just yet.