Switchover News August 2007

Posted on 1st August at 11:19 AM, Posted by: Digital UK

CULTURE SECRETARY ARRIVES IN WHITEHAVEN

James Purnell visited Whitehaven today to see progress towards the start of digital switchover. The recently-appointed Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport described switchover as “like doing decimalisation and the North Sea gas [conversion] at the same time”. Mr Purnell visited the local transmitter and Help Scheme centre, before heading to Scottish Borders where the UK’s second switchover will take place next year. With 77 days remaining until the area goes entirely digital, switchover awareness in Whitehaven is stable at around 97%.

FIRST SWITCHOVER HELP CENTRE OPENS

Jamie Reed, MP for Copeland, opened the Digital Switchover Help Centre in Whitehaven on July 12. The centre is operated by Help Scheme contractor Capita, and provides advice and practical demonstrations of equipment ahead of switchover. This month the first trained installers will begin providing equipment and in-home demonstrations to those eligible for the Help Scheme, which will be rolled out across the country as switchover progresses.

DIGITAL UK TRAINS FIRST VOLUNTEERS

Digital UK has begun training volunteers in Whitehaven, as the wider assistance programme for those outside of the Help Scheme begins to take shape. A range of printed materials to assist people in explaining the process has been sent to local volunteer, charity and consumer groups. These packs will be distributed across the Border, Wales and West Country regions later this year, together with a DVD designed to help answer people’s questions about switchover.

NEW MEASURES TO TARGET TENANTS

Following the launch of a property managers’ website in June, Digital UK is developing a package of measures to increase residents’ readiness for switchover. These include: a leaflet to millions of flats in 43 towns and cities; new factsheets for hotels, caravan and motorhome owners; a Q&A pack for local authority executives; interview and focus-group research in the tourism and care home sectors; and an accreditation badge, “Homes set for digital”, awarded to landlords and housing providers who have upgraded their communal TV systems.

ARQIVA WINS NETWORK CONTRACT

Transmission company Arqiva has signed a contract with SDN to design, build and operate a new national digital-terrestrial TV network in preparation for digital switchover. SDN, the multiplex operator owned by ITV, broadcasts a range of channels on Freeview including Five Life, QVC and Top Up TV services. The £500m Arqiva deal will allow SDN to increase the power level at which these channels are broadcast, making them available to 90% of the population when switchover completes in 2012. More from Arqiva.

USWITCH REPEATS AWARENESS CALL

Uswitch, the commercial price-comparison website, published findings showing that 33m adults don’t know when their region will switch to digital television. Digital UK responded: “We are intentionally targeting the early switchover regions. Awareness is naturally lower in areas where switchover is many years away, and where we haven’t yet launched our three-year programme of regional communication.” Eight of the UK’s 14 TV regions are still more than three years from switchover.

BBC LOOKS AHEAD TO 2012

BBC Director General Mark Thompson outlined his vision of the post-switchover broadcasting landscape in a Westminster speech. He claimed that public-service content in all genres would be more necessary than ever by 2012, in a world of multiple channels and platforms. Thompson added that digital switchover was “now in its crucial phase”. Read the speech