Sky Absent from Debut of U.K.’s Free Over-Air HDTV Launch

LONDON -- BSkyB was the elephant absent from the room Tuesday when Freeview gave details of its terrestrial HDTV launch, details of which we have reported exclusively (CED March 30 p5). Freeview told reporters how it hopes its cost-free, over-the-air HD broadcasts will take viewers from Sky’s subscription pay-TV HD service.

Freeview is the working name for DTV Services Ltd., a company set up in 2002 to promote terrestrial DTV in the U.K. Freeview is owned and run by broadcasters BBC, Channel 4 and ITV, transmitter operator Arqiva and BSkyB. The briefing at Channel 4 headquarters began with the message “high definition television comes of age.” Taking part in the event, in addition to representatives of the other four Freeview shareholders, were representatives of 12 CE manufacturers showing 16 Freeview HD set-top boxes, PVRs and IDTVs total.

BSkyB didn’t reply to our request for comment about Freeview HD and the company’s absence from the news conference. It has started a campaign to combat competition from Freeview. U.K. retailers such as Dixons’ Currys Digital chain are running price promotions for Sky’s HD set-tops. The efforts include in-store, split-screen demonstrations that contrast Freeview’s SDTV signal unfavorably against Sky’s HD satellite feed.

Howling promised “HD goes Freeview” with set-tops priced as low as the equivalent of $150, free HD for 50 percent of the population in start for soccer’s World Cup matches in June and “no annoying knocks at the door.” That’s an allusion to Sky’s sales-tactics, particularly with those whose subscriptions lapse.

Freeview is in 18.2 million of the U.K.’s 25 million TV households, “with 10 million using Freeview” SDTV on their main TVs, Howling said. As for programming, “14 out of 15 of the most watched TV channels are on Freeview, and so are 99 of the 100 most watched programs,” she said. Howling used a 103-inch Panasonic HD plasma screen to show coming TV ads promoting the “free HD” message” in a $9 million campaign based on the theme, “It feels good to Freeview."

"BBC HD is already the ninth most watched of all TV channels and the most watched HD channel,” Howling said. That HD channel has been available since last year by satellite through Sky HD and through Freeview’s Freesat service, as well as through Virgin Cable. Sky and Virgin don’t charge extra for BBC HD. Now Freeview HD can air independently of satellite and cable, Howling said. “Unlike other HD products, we are for everyone. HD is going free, into the mainstream. Maybe viewers on other platforms will consider switching. With the World Cup just around the corner, there is no better time for viewers to embrace High Definition TV."

"We are not making sales forecasts, but we are really excited about the YouGov market research which shows that the appetite for Freeview HD is high,” Howling said. “One-fifth broadly across all viewer areas are really interested.” The viewer areas sampled by U.K. government pollster YouGov included homes that now receive analog terrestrial TV, Freeview terrestrial SDTV and satellite and cable TV. About 20 percent of those polled said they would be interested in receiving cost-free Freeview HD within six months.

Freeview HD was available Tuesday to 4.5 million U.K. homes, 25 percent of its SDTV reception area. HD coverage includes major population centers like London, Birmingham, Leeds and Cardiff. That puts Freeview HD on track to reach up to half of homes by the time of the World Cup, Howling said.

Asked about plans for a fourth HD channel to fill the gap left by Channel 5’s decision to pull out of Freeview HD and broadcast from Sky HD instead, Caroline Thomsom, the BBC’s chief operating officer and Freeview’s chair, said, “The BBC operates the HD multiplex and when Five told the regulator Ofcom it could not provide a Freeview HD service, the channel was given to the BBC. We hope for a replacement this year and a fifth HD channel by 2012.” Channel 5 is a commercial broadcaster that makes revenue from ads, like the U.K.’s Channel 4 and ITV. The BBC is publicly funded and runs no paid ads. Whatever broadcaster fills the space vacated by Channel 5 “won’t be from Channel 4,” Howling said. “It might be from the BBC,” Thomson said.

Work is “in progress” on the use of overnight transmission capacity to push extra HD programming into Freeview DVRs, the authority said. Work also is under way to deliver HD programming to Freeview DVRs by broadband. All Freeview DVRs have Ethernet connections.

No mention was made that Freeview’s HD transmitters, including in London, are operating at half -- or less than half -- the strength of Freeview SD, and that will continue until the digital switch-over is completed in 2012. So viewers who are in fringe areas or have poor antennas get an unhappy A/B comparison when they switch from an SD channel, which gives good pictures, to an HD channel, which suffers digital breakup. “Then there will be equipment returns because consumers will think the box is faulty,” an engineer from a leading maker of Freeview boxes told us.

Freeview gave its standard response about HD coverage. “We have three Cs,” Howling said. “Content, campaign and coverage. We are urging people to check the Freeview post code checker.” That lets people visit Freeview’s website or even check by phone to see whether their locality gets what partner BBC considers a strong HD signal. Freeview will train retailers to sell Freeview HD products responsibly, the authority said.