The future of television

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

You wouldn’t believe it if I showed you.

Correct. Because I’ve already got the links lined up that show you’ve misunderstood whatever it is you’ve been reading. But I guess we can just cut out the middleman and agree that nobody with any sense believes any of your pound shop predictions about TV.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

You wouldn’t believe it if I showed you.

Let me guess - it goes to another school…

Originally Posted by Chris

Correct. Because I’ve already got the links lined up that show you’ve misunderstood whatever it is you’ve been reading. But I guess we can just cut out the middleman and agree that nobody with any sense believes any of your pound shop predictions about TV.

Here’s one, just in case, from last year…

https://www.arqiva.com/credit-Invest...esentation.pdf (page 10)

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

You wouldn’t believe it if I showed you.

Originally Posted by Hugh

Here’s one, just in case, from last year…

https://www.arqiva.com/credit-Invest...esentation.pdf (page 10)

I think you have your work cut out to challenge Hugh's Arqiva document!

[jfman]

When DCMS consulted ironically only two of fifteen respondents were desperate to close DTT.

BT - who obviously envisage television as a way to forcing people to pay for broadband subscriptions.

Sky - who obviously see it as a rival platform to whatever Sky do over whatever medium.

There was no real appetite anywhere else. 2034 - far from being a magic tipping point where we will all have free full fibre broadband regardless of rurality - chosen to align the multiplex licences with the Channel 3 and 5 licences.

[RichardCoulter]

My understanding of the situation was rhat they would be licensing DTT beyond 2035, but that they reserve the right to cancel the licenses at any point from 2035 onwards. Is that not the case

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

My understanding of the situation was rhat they would be licensing DTT beyond 2035, but that they reserve the right to cancel the licenses at any point from 2035 onwards. Is that not the case

My understanding of jfman's post is that the only reason that 2034 was chosen is that it aligns renewals with those of Channel 3 (ITV/STV) and Channel 5.

No reason to suggest licences won't be renewed because DTT will end the next year which is what old Boy has conjectured. It's just commercial logic to have an end date which can then be renewed for another period of time.

A further aspect of this licence streamlining process is Ofcom’s proposal to automatically extend licences for the 34 hyper-local TV channels currently serving cities across the UK. At present these licences will expire in 2025. Ofcom recognises they may need more time to become commercially viable and so … guess what … is proposing a simplified renewal process, that gives them more time to succeed, with a new licence lasting until 2034.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/p...air-until-2034

*Not* because that’s when DTT is being shut; the government consultation outlined specific reasons for the process around giving channels time to improve their commercial viability, part of which is certainty that the platform will continue to exist. This is in line with the Broadcasting White Paper issued last year which proposed consolidating various broadcast licence renewals on 2034 because that is sufficiently far into the future to signal that investors can have long-term confidence in DTT, not because that’s when they plan to close it.

https://assets.publishing.service.go...ssible__1_.pdf

Especially page 38.

[RichardCoulter]

Freeview could remain via IPTV or 5G even if it's decided to sell off the current frequencies for mobile use.

I suspect that it would be commercial viability that would cause DTT to end more than anything technological.

Maybe they would keep one mux going for PSB channels for those that cannot or don't want to access them in any other way. If they complained about the reduction in channels I bet they'd be told that they have the channels, plus a few more, that they had befote DSO!

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

Freeview could remain via IPTV or 5G even if it's decided to sell off the current frequencies for mobile use.

I suspect that it would be commercial viability that would cause DTT to end more than anything technological.

Maybe they would keep one mux going for PSB channels for those that cannot or don't want to access them in any other way. If they complained about the reduction in channels I bet they'd be told that they have the channels, plus a few more, that they had befote DSO!

In many ways the delivery mechanism is a secondary question, in terms of this discussion at least. Old Boy’s contention (most of the time at least) has been that as soon as content providers can stop scheduling broadcasts and switch exclusively to Netflix-style on demand systems, they will do so, because it’s (allegedly) more convenient for everyone.

At present the public service broadcasters aren’t allowed to go on-demand only, but there are only around a dozen channels that fall under that category. All of the rest are on broadcast channels because they *want* to be there, and Ofcom’s extension and streamlining of the licensing for those channels, taking them out to 2034 with minimal fuss, is designed to make it as easy as possible for them to be there.

If in future it is deemed a better use of spectrum to broadcast TV via IP or 5G, (both of which are technically feasible though presently have serious limitations as to their reach and universal affordability) then Freeview can go from its present DTT to one or more alternative mechanisms. But the idea that content providers want to ditch their programming schedules just as soon as they can is for the birds. As indeed is the idea that Ofcom or the government wants them to do so.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Chris

A further aspect of this licence streamlining process is Ofcom’s proposal to automatically extend licences for the 34 hyper-local TV channels currently serving cities across the UK. At present these licences will expire in 2025. Ofcom recognises they may need more time to become commercially viable and so … guess what … is proposing a simplified renewal process, that gives them more time to succeed, with a new licence lasting until 2034.

Even if you extended them until 2099 I don't reckon they would be commercially viable.

"Hyper local my arse" as Jim Royle would say!

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Even if you extended them until 2099 I don't reckon they would be commercially viable.

"Hyper local my arse" as Jim Royle would say!

I was just trying to find a shorthand way of describing what they are. But fair enough, you can’t polish a 💩

[Itshim]

At the end of the day does it really matter how TV is delivered.

Originally Posted by Itshim

At the end of the day does it really matter how TV is delivered.

The discussion isn't really about how it's delivered (DTT, IPTV, 5G, beamed directly to your brain by the COVID vaccine, or whatever ), it centres more on whether it will be a combination of Scheduled Programming and Streaming, or, just Streaming...

[1andrew1]

More bad news for loathers of linear. In essence, a cheap way to make a little of dosh out of old content.

NBC Universal launches 30 FAST Channels on Freevee
Curated content from past seasons of series including Saturday Night Live, The Real Housewives franchises, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians will form the backbone of a suite of FAST channels to be launched this Summer by NBCUniversal.

The Comcast-owned distributor is creating 30 new channels that will be available on Amazon Freevee and Xumo Play. The line-up also includes Little House on the Prairie, Murder, She Wrote and Saved by the Bell, along with genre-based sitcoms, action, crime, westerns, and monster movie content.

NBCUniversal is adding to its industry leading lineup of current channels including Dateline 24/7, NBC News NOW, and Local NBC and Spanish language Telemundo news stations.

https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2023...ls-on-freevee/