Ofcom: ‘DTT at risk’
May 9, 2024
By Colin Mann
UK broadcast regulator Ofcom has provided the Government with a report on the future of TV distribution.
This is in response to a request from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in 2022 for Ofcom to carry out an early review of market changes that may affect the way content reaches audiences on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT).
Speaking at thhe DTG Summit in London, Julia Lopez MP, Minister for Digital and Media, suggested that publication of such a report was imminent. She told delegates that the government was committed to DTT “to at least 2034” and that a decision was not just a simple dichotomy between DTT and IPTV.
Taking account of responses to Ofcom’s earlier call for evidence, research into audience behaviours and analysis of commercial dynamics, Ofcom’s report outlines:
- People are spending less and less time watching TV broadcast over DTT;
- Changing audience habits and rising costs could force a tipping point within the next decade where investment in DTT cannot be sustained – undermining the platform for those who rely on it; and
- Three broad approaches that could sustain the universal availability of TV services.
The market now
In recent years there has been a radical shift in people’s viewing habits. TV is increasingly being viewed online, driven by the mass take-up of broadband, a range of different devices, new platforms and ways to consume content. The average person spent 25 per cent fewer minutes per day watching broadcast TV in 2023 than in 2018.
The trend is expected to continue, with watching on scheduled TV channels through Digital Terrestrial Television and satellite forecast to drop from 67 per cent of total long-form TV viewing in 2022, to 35 per cent by 2034 and 27 per cent by 2040. Much of that remaining viewing will be done by households that rely solely on DTT, which are more likely to include people who are older, less affluent or have a disability.
Industry anticipates tipping point for DTT
Broadcasters are paying to distribute their content both online and via traditional infrastructures such as DTT with costs rising. The less time people spend on DTT, the less cost effective per viewer it is.
For the first time, many broadcasters have told us that they foresee a tipping point at which it is no longer economically viable to support DTT in its current form.
To date, the significant migration of audiences online has been organic. Were this transition to continue ‘unmanaged’, there is a real risk that the DTT platform could be left unsupported. If those organisations that sustain the DTT ecosystem see a weaker case for new investment, they are likely to seek to cut costs. This could mean, for example, removing HD from Freeview, or reducing the number of channels the platform can broadcast – but without support for those viewers who rely on DTT to access those services over the Internet.
Approaches to delivering universal TV in future
While Ofcom found that there is widespread support across the sector for TV services continuing to be available to all, with a strong offering from public service broadcasters, there is no shared view about how to achieve this.
A clear vision and careful planning for the long term are needed. Ofcom has set out three broad approaches. Each model has particular challenges and involves commercial or public policy trade-offs.
- Investment in a more efficient DTTservice – 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Considering the needs of all audiences must be at the heart of any chosen approach, and Ofcom’s report signals no preference for any particular option. In all cases, the broadcast and broadband industries would need to work with Government to set a common vision for how to deliver universal TV services in future, followed by detailed planning. An inclusive transition would take eight-to-10 years, so it is welcome that Government is considering these issues now so industry can be ready for any changes by the early 2030s.
“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,” stated Ed Leighton, Ofcom’s Director of Strategy and Policy. “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.”
In response, a spokesperson for the Broadcast 2040+ Campaign, which backs a hybrid TV future, supporting terrestrial TV to 2040 and beyond, alongside online streaming, said: “When the banks were taking cash machines away from our high streets, the government stepped in to protect access to cash. Now they need to do the same and protect traditional terrestrial TV, received for free via an aerial, for the long-term.”
“Without certainty about its future, millions who use and rely on broadcast services, including many of the most vulnerable in society and those who cannot, or do not wish to pay for, super-fast broadband or who lack digital skills, face the threat of TV exclusion.”
“Any debate about the future of television must put viewers first. Millions of people in Britain, often the most vulnerable, rely on universal, free to air terrestrial TV and will continue to do so for decades to come.”