The great digital mystery
Many viewers left ‘in the dark’
The many the ‘Digital Switchover’ is a puzzling concept, its significance diluted amongst a thousand Blairite sound-bites. And can you really blame people? ‘Education, Education, Education’; ‘Hearts and Minds’;’ Special Relationship’; ‘Prudence’ and now ‘Competence’ – is it at all surprising that people are failing to draw the meaning out of words anymore?
I say this, because a recent parliamentary report has claimed that ‘many viewers do not understand the implications of the digital switchover’, despite the efforts of a £200m campaign. The statistics are unequivocal. Of all of the television sets sold in the first half of 2007, over half of them were analogue. In total it is estimated that there are 26 million analogue televisions in existence that will need replacing.
Whitehaven became the first place to fall under the glimmer of digital television on 14 November last year. In that town, on the north western Cumbrian coast, it is now only possible to watch television on broadband, Freeview, Sky, satellite or cable. Like a pack of cards, the rest of Britain is poised to follow suit over the next four years. The problem is that many remain in blissful ignorance.
Once the analogue signal is switched off permanently, viewers will only be able to receive a digital signal unless they pay for expensive extra equipment. The upshot of this is – that people across the country need to begin to consider what digital service they would like to opt for in the future.
Sky and Freeview are the two most prominent options available. Sky with its array of programming and effortless programming quality and Freeview boasts a quick-fix connection to the digital signal and comes with a cart load of free-to-air channels. Other companies have joined the mix – and currently Virgin Media, BT, Tiscali and Setanta are amongst a cluster of companies offering attractive digital packages.
Meanwhile the report suggests that the government have to do more to make the population aware of the impending change. Specifically, it suggested that the digital tick that signified whether or not a product was suitable for the digital changeover remained a ‘mystery’ to many sales staff and customers.
Therefore it is clear that the facts surrounding the digital switchover will have to be better promoted – otherwise viewers quite simply could be caught in the fuzz and forced into a last minute upgrade.
