A free-to-view satellite television and radio service from the BBC and ITV is being launched across the UK today. Freesat will be available to 98 per cent of UK homes, including those that cannot receive Freeview, which is broadcast via terrestrial transmitters and aerial.The new service will initially feature more than 80 television and radio channels, expected to rise to 200 by the end of the year. It will also broadcast the Olympics, Wimbledon and the Euro 2008 football championships in high definition (HD) this summer. Viewers will be able to watch HD programming without paying a subscription. Customers will have to make a one-off payment of £150 for a digital box, satellite dish and installation and viewers will need an HD-ready television to view high-definition programmes.
It is not the first subscription-free satellite system on the market, Sky has been offering 200 channels, including BBC and Luxe HD, via its own Freesat service since October 2004. The satellite broadcaster already operates 18 HD channels and is planning to increase this to around 30 next year. Ofcom is expected to restrict the number of HD channels carried by Freeview to four, which makes Freesat an attractive option for ITV and the BBC to increase their HD offering.
The BBC's media correspondent, Torin Douglas, said the BBC and ITV were hoping their new service would also increase interest in HD television. Millions of people have already got HD-ready television sets. Emma Scott, the managing director of Freesat, stated: "Today is a landmark day for digital TV in the UK - the launch of a new digital satellite service which brings free HD programmes to everyone. With more than 9.6 million HD-ready televisions already sold in the UK, but only a tiny fraction of those who own them currently able to receive HD programmes, there's a big opportunity for Freesat to lead the way in introducing the UK to high definition viewing." In a separate interview, Scott told BBC Radio 5 Live: "It's only homes that really don't have a clear line of sight to the satellite that can't get it, or certain listed buildings. But unlike Freeview, you can receive Freesat across the country, which means that in those areas that at the moment can't get access to free digital television this is the first time that you can get free digital TV."
Freesat is therefore targeting two main demographics: households that have already snapped up the HD-ready TV sets; and the 27% of UK households that are currently unable to get digital terrestrial TV service Freeview. Even after digital switchover is complete it is estimated that around 13% of households will only be able to access around half of the channels on Freeview. Freesat has a total annual budget of £6m, funded by ITV and the BBC, of which an undisclosed amount will be spent on marketing the service to consumers. The BBC Trust has said Freesat is guaranteed to remain subscription-free. Set-top boxes will be available from high street retailers, who will also arrange installation.
Further details of the television and radio service have also been unveiled today by Michael Grade, the chairman of ITV, and Mark Thompson, the Director-General of the BBC. The BBC HD channel will be available immediately, with ITV HD launching exclusively on Freesat at a later date. Mark Thompson stated: "With the launch of Freesat, all the BBC's digital channels, including BBC HD, will now be available to all licence fee payers wherever they live and however they choose to access them. This means they will have yet another way to watch a fantastic range of BBC output, from landmark dramas and world class documentaries to national events and live sport." Michael Grade added: "We will launch our HD service with an unrivalled lineup of premium football including the FA Cup, England internationals and UEFA Champions League from next season. Now everyone in the UK can experience the benefits of digital television: more choice of channels, interactivity and the extraordinary picture quality of HD."
Mark Thompson outlined further ambitious plans for Freesat, including offering access to on-demand programming via broadband TV services such as iPlayer and Kangaroo. Speaking at the press launch of Freesat, Thompson said the service was aiming to swiftly offer viewers broadband internet access through an in-built ethernet connection in set-top boxes. "The long-term goal of Freesat is to connect to broadband and the internet [to make] services such as the iPlayer and Kangaroo accessible through boxes like this," he added.
Thompson said that offering broadband access via Freesat boxes, something that BSkyB is also aiming for with its Sky+ personal video recorder boxes, marked "something new in satellite broadcasting in this country" that would be available to all households. A senior executive at Freesat confirmed that the plan was to offer broadband access via an ethernet connection within "months".
Freesat has been pitched as a potential rival in some respects to Sky, which offers subscription and free satellite services, and its long-term plans and customer acquisition strategy. Michael Grade said that as its high definition channel would be available via Freesat the broadcaster would not necessarily now need to do a deal to offer the network via Sky's digital satellite service. "ITV HD won't be available on Sky at the moment," Grade added. "We are a commercial organisation and won't give it to Sky for nothing."
However, Thompson said that Freesat was "not intended in any way to compete with BSkyB's central proposition". He stated: "Freesat represents a new choice out there in the market and more choice. Sky is pretty expensive and it is possible for many to switch to free satellite at a lower price … [Sky's] free proposition has not been front of mind to date." Emma Scott confirmed that while the service currently had no capability to offer subscription services it would be "considered in the future". "It is fundamentally a free platform," she added.
Channel Five is expected to join Freesat in the near future, once programming rights issues had been resolved. For now the service will features BBC, ITV and Channel 4 networks. Grade said that Freesat, which was originally mooted to launch in 2006, "represents the final piece in the UK digital TV jigsaw".
"Freesat is absolutely complementary to the UK's most popular [digital] platform Freeview," Grade said. "Every house can have access to free-to-air digital TV and we are confident it will be a huge success." Thompson said that Freesat would "make a real difference" in achieving the BBC's aim of transmitting its high quality programming to licence fee payers across the UK on its new HD channel. "We are moving as fast as we can to get our crown jewels in HD all onto Freesat," he said.
The Sky chief operating officer, Mike Darcey, criticised ITV's decision not to make ITV HD available on Sky. He said: "ITV want to have their cake and eat it. On the one hand, they are claiming to champion HD for all, while on the other, they are deliberately withholding free-to-air content from almost half a million Sky HD homes. This is neither in viewers' interests nor in keeping with ITV's 'HD for all' posturing. All in all, this is curious behaviour for a public service broadcaster."
The BBC is marking the launch of its new high definition TV channel with an ad promoting the improved picture quality on offer featuring newsreader Fiona Bruce as an action hero. Bruce is seen diving athletically to save a falling vase that has just been valued at £2m by an Antiques Roadshow expert.
The BBC HD ad, developed by ad agency Fallon and produced by Red Bee Media, opens with what appears to be a typical episode of Antiques Roadshow with a man and woman who are told their vase is worth £2m. It is then accidentally catapulted into the air and the scene spirals into a chain reaction of events that sees antiques destroyed and a car flying through a brick wall and bursting into flames. As the car explodes Bruce is seen diving clear and then spectacularly catching the vase and saving the day.
The campaign aims to promote the improved picture quality of TV programmes delivered via HD using the strapline "TV goes cinematic". It includes 40-, 65- and 95-second versions of the promotional trail as well as a radio ad.
Viewers of the BBC HD channel and cinema-goers across the UK will be the only people to see the 95-second version of the promo. The BBC HD channel broadcasts for four hours a day, from 8pm until midnight on weekdays and six hours a night on weekends, with some flexibility to extend hours "during key live events". The BBC Trust gave approval for the HD channel last year.
As the number of BBC programmes shot in HD increases the channel will build to a nine-hour schedule by around the end of 2009. Aside from programming including coverage of the Olympics, the Euro 2008 football championship and Wimbledon, other output includes drama, factual and entertainment programmes such as Glastonbury, the Proms, Strictly Come Dancing, Torchwood, Heroes and Gavin & Stacey.
The BBC HD channel is available on Sky, Virgin Media and via newly launched Freesat – the ITV and BBC joint venture free-to-air service, unveiled today.
