Digital TV Divide: Government and Networks at Odds

The Australian’s Sally Jackson reported that the commercial TV sector has called for a "last-resort safeguard" to stop the analogue signal being shut off until almost all viewers have a digital set, putting it in conflict with the federal Government.

“In most cases, more than 95 per cent of households in a region should have free-to-air digital TV one month before their analogue signal was due to end, industry body Free TV Australia said. If not, the switch-over should be automatically delayed by at least two months. The underlying principle is to safeguard against premature switch-off where preparations are clearly inadequate," said a sector spokesperson.

Even if only 1 per cent of people lost their signal - that’s 200,000 Australians who would no longer be able to watch free-to-air television.


<Image Source> A Digital Set-Top Box; Required for an Analogue TV to display Digital Transmissions

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy already had the discretionary power to vary the switch-over date in a region, that "may not be sufficient to properly safeguard against premature switch-over", Free TV warned, adding;

"Analogue television signals should not be switched off unless digital free-to-air terrestrial television signals achieve the same coverage and reception levels as was achieved in analogue."

However Andy Townsend, head of the federal Government's Digital Switch-Over Taskforce, has opposed the use of so-called soft switch-over dates, arguing that they confuse people and can cause them to delay going digital.

"In the UK it was concluded coverage targets could become self-defeating," he told Media last month. “Provided you are clear with people about your timetable ... and create the environment in which they can switch ... you don't need to set coverage targets."

Having lived in the UK until 2004, I am deeply frustrated with the bungled handling of the switch to digital TV. The key difference I have noted is that in the UK, the masses were given about 80 good reasons to want to upgrade to digital, not just blatant need. Freeview is the UK’s answer to spurring viewers to digital. It offers around 80, mostly quality channels, including the traditional analogue channels in the digital format for free. Viewers simply need buy a set-top box and plumb it into their TV in a similar fashion to a DVD player, unless they purchase a TV with an inbuilt digital receiver.


<Image Source> Impressive: Some of Freeview UK's Lineup

Why couldn’t such a system be implemented in Australia? Former Communications Minister Helen Coonan’s watery excuses in 2007 made reference to Australia’s market being too small, but something tells me that it has more to do with the traditional analogue TV networks fearing competition. It is clear to me that the bodies responsible need to adopt more of a carrot and less of a stick approach.