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• UK viewers have been watching digital terrestrial TV for 15 years
• Digital terrestrial has evolved, offering HDTV and soon local TV

Digital TV through the aerial, watched by three in four UK TV homes, is 15 years old (15 November).

At the end of 2012, there were 19.2 million TV homes (75 per cent) with digital terrestrial TV in the UK, with 10.3 million (40 per cent) homes using it as their only TV service¹.

The UK was among the first countries in the world to launch digital terrestrial TV, which created capacity to offer more TV channels, enhanced programme guides and improved picture and sound quality.

Digital terrestrial TV began broadcasting in the UK on 15 November 1998, offering around 20 channels, mainly on a subscription basis. The platform now offers mostly free TV channels, via Freeview.

High-definition TV

Digital terrestrial TV offers around 70 TV channels, of which four are in the high definition format, offering viewers sharper, higher resolution pictures.

High-definition (HD) TV channels launched on the platform following Ofcom’s decision to reorganise capacity. Freeview HD debuted in December 2009 and HD channels became available to more viewers as digital switchover progressed across the UK and freed up space for HD.

Today, digital terrestrial TV viewers can receive HD channels if they have a Freeview HD TV set or set-top box. HD versions of channels from ITV, STV in Scotland, UTV in Northern Ireland, Channel 4 and the BBC are available.

The future of digital terrestrial TV

Terrestrial TV broadcasting became digital-only at the end of 2012 as the UK’s final analogue signals were switched off. But digital switchover is far from the end of digital terrestrial’s journey and new developments are helping to shape the platform for the future.

Ofcom earlier this year licensed two new ‘multiplexes’ – discrete chunks of spectrum that carry TV signals – on digital terrestrial TV to offer more channels.

New HD channels will go live from late 2013 and into 2014 using a combination of the newly-licensed capacity in conjunction with the existing Freeview HD signal.

The new channels will include news channel Al Jazeera English HD and five BBC channels in HD. Coverage of the new HD services will extend to 70 per cent of UK homes by June 2014².

Local TV

In addition, a network of local TV channels will soon be available to digital terrestrial TV viewers in many parts of the UK.

Ofcom has now awarded 21 local TV licences and could license up to 26 further local stations. Estuary TV, the local channel for viewers in Grimsby, is set to be the first channel to hit the airwaves later this month.

Ofcom has provided technical assistance for local TV coverage planning and is overseeing the licensing of local TV services. This follows the Government’s policy statement in December 2011.

Digital terrestrial TV by numbers

4.2 hours – the average TV a digital terrestrial TV viewer watched per day in 2012 (compared to 4 hours across all TV viewers).

98.5% – the number of UK homes covered by signals from the public service broadcasters on digital terrestrial TV.

70 – the approximate number of TV channels currently available on digital terrestrial – compared to around 25 after Freeview launched at the end of 2002.

1,156 – the number of transmitter masts across the UK for digital terrestrial TV.

Timeline

• November 1998 – Digital terrestrial TV launches as OnDigital.
• July 2001 – OnDigital rebrands as ITV Digital.
• May 2002 – ITV Digital closes.
• October 2002 – Freeview launches.
• March 2004 – Top Up TV launches pay channels on digital terrestrial.
• November 2007 – analogue TV signals switched off in Whitehaven, Cumbria – the first area to undergo digital switchover. Switchover proceeds on a regional, basis across the UK over the next five years.
• October 2009 – Freeview HD launches using more advanced encoding and transmission standards than established digital terrestrial services, which provide capacity for three HD channels at launch.
• October 2012 – Digital switchover completed (in Northern Ireland).
• November 2013 – Top Up TV closes.
• November 2013 – first local TV channel expected to begin broadcasting (Estuary TV). New HD channels are also expected to join the digital terrestrial platform from November, including channels carried on new multiplex spectrum licences.

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1.     http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/other/tv-research/dtv/dtv-q4-2012/

2.     http://www.arqiva.com/press-releases/hd-channels-on-freeview-to-reach-double-numbers