Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ensuring the digital terrestrial broadcast of international sporting events; and if she will make it her policy to continue digital terrestrial television beyond 2034.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government remains committed to the future of digital terrestrial television (DTT), the technology which underpins Freeview. Millions of households across the UK, including in Scotland, rely on DTT. This is particularly true of rural communities and older people.
We also recognise the crucial role that DTT services play in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available and free-to-air to all audiences.
For these reasons, the Government has already legislated to secure the continuity of DTT until at least 2034.
As the sector evolves, it is right that we continue to evaluate the future distribution of television services. To that end, and as set out in the Broadcasting White Paper, the Government has asked Ofcom to continue to track changes in DTT viewing and to undertake an early review on market changes that may affect the future of content distribution before the end of 2025.
We have also recently launched a major research and engagement programme looking at how UK audiences will get their TV in the decades to come, including DTT, satellite, cable, and online.
Before any decisions about the future of terrestrial television are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the social value to (a) the elderly, (b) rural communities and (c) vulnerable people of free to air broadcast (i) TV and (ii) radio services.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government remains committed to the future of free to air TV and radio services. Millions of households across the UK rely on these services, particularly vulnerable people, the elderly and rural communities. We also recognise the crucial role that free-to-air television and radio services play in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available and free-to-air to all audiences.
More detailed data on the usage of free-to-air radio and TV is available from a variety of sources. For example, Ofcom produces its Media Nations report which reviews key trends in the media sector and sets out how audiences are served across the UK. The most recent report was published in August 2023 and can be found here. Ofcom also publishes the results of a number of annual surveys addressing these issues, as well as an interactive data set in the form of its annual Communications Market Report. Many of these publications include relevant analysis broken down by age group and/or geographic area.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport also commissions and publishes its own research on a range of topics, including in relation to radio and TV. For example, the Digital Radio and Audio Review (published October 2021) looked at the landscape for radio over the coming years, and noted that traditional radio, including FM services, was valued by many listeners – particularly those who were older or vulnerable.
We have also recently launched a major research and engagement programme looking at how UK audiences will get their TV in the decades to come, including digital terrestrial television (DTT), satellite, cable, and online.
Before any decisions about the future of terrestrial television are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an estimate of the potential impact on the cost of living of digital terrestrial television ending in 2034.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government remains committed to the future of digital terrestrial television (DTT), the technology which underpins Freeview. Millions of households across the UK, including in Scotland, rely on DTT. This is particularly true of rural communities and older people.
We also recognise the crucial role that DTT services play in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available and free-to-air to all audiences.
For these reasons, the Government has already legislated to secure the continuity of DTT until at least 2034.
As the sector evolves, it is right that we continue to evaluate the future distribution of television services. To that end, and as set out in the Broadcasting White Paper, the Government has asked Ofcom to continue to track changes in DTT viewing and to undertake an early review on market changes that may affect the future of content distribution before the end of 2025.
We have also recently launched a major research and engagement programme looking at how UK audiences will get their TV in the decades to come, including DTT, satellite, cable, and online.
Before any decisions about the future of terrestrial television are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact on Scottish viewers of the expiry of digital terrestrial television licenses in 2034.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government remains committed to the future of digital terrestrial television (DTT), the technology which underpins Freeview. Millions of households across the UK, including in Scotland, rely on DTT. This is particularly true of rural communities and older people.
We also recognise the crucial role that DTT services play in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available and free-to-air to all audiences.
For these reasons, the Government has already legislated to secure the continuity of DTT until at least 2034.
As the sector evolves, it is right that we continue to evaluate the future distribution of television services. To that end, and as set out in the Broadcasting White Paper, the Government has asked Ofcom to continue to track changes in DTT viewing and to undertake an early review on market changes that may affect the future of content distribution before the end of 2025.
We have also recently launched a major research and engagement programme looking at how UK audiences will get their TV in the decades to come, including DTT, satellite, cable, and online.
Before any decisions about the future of terrestrial television are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.