BBC and ITV plan free satellite TV service

Stephen Withers
Monday, 30 April 2007 11:00

IT Industry - Strategy

UK free-to-air broadcasters BBC and ITV will form a joint venture to deliver programming via satellite to fill in black spots in terrestrial digital TV signals.

The switchover from analogue to digital TV is set to take place between 2008 and 2012 on a region-by-region basis, but around a quarter of UK viewers cannot receive the Freeview terrestrial service.

The BBC's motivation is to ensure that the public can continue to receive the programs they have already paid for via the TV licence fee, without having to rely on rebroadcasting by commercial satellite or cable operators.

Although no announcement has been made, it is expected that Freesat will offer high definition (HD) programming.

Freesat-compatible set-top boxes from a variety of manufacturers will be available in shops.