Digital UK, the company behind Freeview, has announced Arqiva is standing down as one of its shareholders in March 2021.
Arqiva has been involved in the development of Freeview since its launch, and has been a shareholder in Digital UK since 2005.
The company will withdraw from its board involvement in Digital UK, which leads the day-to-day management of the DTT platform as well as the long-term strategy and development of the Freeview service. Arqiva will also be withdrawing as a shareholder in DTV Services Ltd., the marketing body for the Freeview platform.
However, Arqiva will remain involved with Freeview, both as a national multiplex operator carrying around half of the channels on the Freeview platform – and as the sole transmission provider for the Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) platform.
Jonathan Thompson, CEO of Digital UK said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Arqiva for all their support for Freeview over the years. They have been an important and valued partner to Digital UK, and without them Freeview would not have been the British success story it is today. We look forward to continuing to work closely together in the future to ensure the platform remains just as compelling for British viewers in the future.”
Shuja Khan, chief commercial officer of Arqiva added, “While we have stepped down as shareholder, we believe in the platform’s future and will continue to deliver and invest in the infrastructure and related services required to provide a wide and growing range of services to our media customers.”
“We remain confident that Digital UK will ensure continued support for all its partners and respect the interests of all multiplex operators and broadcasters. As such, we look forward to continuing to play an important role in the future success of the platform.”
