UK communications regulator Ofcom has provided the government with a report on the future of TV distribution.
In response to a request from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Ofcom has carried out a review into market changes that may affect the way content reaches audiences on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT).
The report said there had been a radical shift in viewing habits with TV increasingly viewed online, driven by mass take-up of broadband, a range of different devices, new platforms and ways to consume content.
The average viewer spent 25 per cent fewer minutes watching TV in 2023 than in 2018, a trend expected to continue with watching on scheduled channels through DTT and satellite forecast to drop from 67 per cent of total long-form viewing in 2022 to 35 per cent by 2034, said the report. Much of the remaining percentage is expected to be comprised of households solely reliant on DTT, which is likely to include older people, those less affluent or having a disability.
The report found broadcasters foresee a tipping point at which it will no longer be viable to support DTT in its current form as costs to distribute both online and via traditional infrastructures are rising. The less time people watch DTT, the less cost effective per viewer it is. Ofcom highlighted the risk that the DTT platform could be left unsupported as broadcasters seek to cut costs. This could result in HD being removed from Freeview or a reduction in the number of channels, without support for viewers reliant on DTT to access these services over the internet.
Future approaches to delivering universal TV
While the report found widespread support for TV services continuing to be available for all, there is a lack of shared vision over how to achieve this. Ofcom has set out three broad approaches, each involving commercial or public policy trade-offs:
1. Investment in a more efficient DTT service – a more efficient, but full DTT service could be an option if audience scale and investment could be sustained over the 2030s. This option may well include supporting audiences with new equipment for more efficient broadcast signals.
2. Reducing DTT to a core service – the DTT platform could retain a minimum number of core channels – for example, the main public service and news channels. This would mean viewers mainly using the internet to access TV services, while also maintaining infrastructure that could deliver radio or TV, including if there are internet outages. It could be done as a temporary transition to a fuller switch-off or remain indefinitely as a provider of last resort.
3. Move towards DTT switch-off in the longer term – a planned campaign to ensure people are confident and connected with internet services, so DTT could be switched off. It would take careful planning to ensure universality of public service media, with support for people so that no one is left behind. This could have wider benefits for digital inclusion in other areas of society, said Ofcom.
The regulator said the needs of all audiences must be at the heart of any approach and that it had no preferred option, adding that all of the cases would require the sector to work with Government to set a common vision. It expects an inclusive transition would take 8-10 years.
Ed Leighton, Ofcom’s director of strategy and policy, said: “Digital Terrestrial Television faces big long-term challenges and audiences who rely on it deserve a solution that is sustainable and fit for the future. It requires a new vision and planning across industry and Government. We’ve set out three broad approaches for how this could be achieved in the long term, and we’ll continue to support Government with further analysis as it considers options for the future.”
