A proposal is in place for terrestrial television to run until at least 2045
Arqiva — the transmissions firm responsible for bringing Freeview to your home — has put forward a plan to keep terrestrial television running until at least 2045, which would be a full decade longer than current licences allow.
Freeview TV's broadcast license is set to expire in 2034. For free-to-air broadcasts to continue beyond the current deadline, the UK Government will need to extend multiplex licences to allow television channels to leverage the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform, more commonly known as Freeview, to broadcast over the airwaves nationwide. This is similar to invisible highways that carry TV signals through the air to your aerial.
As it stands, these major multiplexes are currently run by public broadcasters — two by the BBC, one by ITV, one shared by ITV and Channel 4, and two by Arqiva.
However, Arqiva proposes to extend Freeview's deadline by cutting these multiplex licences in half. Instead of the six national multiplexes currently broadcasting Freeview channels, there would be just three.
This slimmed-down approach would slash broadcasting costs for the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 by more than 40%, according to the transmissions company. This may benefit the BBC, which is gearing up to launch a streaming set-top box to challenge the likes of Fire TV Stick, Roku, and Apple TV. Connected via Wi-Fi, it would enable viewers to stream live and on-demand content from the BBC without a traditional aerial.
Arqiva says it wants to modernise these multiplexes to something called DVB-T2, which is a more efficient broadcasting standard that can handle HD channels better. It would also free up the 600MHz band, which is responsible for powering 5G and 4G LTE networks for your mobiles.
These transmission stations are also incredibly large. Arquiva says that the Belmont mast is 1,150ft (351m), which is 100ft taller than the Eiffel Tower.
And arguably the best part is that coverage is expected to barely budge, staying at 98.5% of UK households. That means nearly everyone could still watch free telly without needing the internet. Arqiva argues terrestrial broadcasting is the only way to guarantee everyone can watch telly, no matter where they live.
That’s because vulnerable members of society are more likely to face barriers to uptake of newer technologies, like cost, location, or digital literacy ― dramatically increasing the risk that they’re excluded from essential TV programming like live sports coverage, news, and entertainment.
A spokesperson for the Broadcast 2040+ campaign, which brings together over 30 organisations, including the Digital Poverty Alliance and Rural Services Network, and hopes to safeguard broadcast TV and radio, told GB News: "Forcing households onto broadband simply to watch basic TV would impose new costs and create new exclusions. If the Government were to underwrite the cost for those who cannot pay, it could easily cost £1 billion per year – an ongoing liability, with people losing their TV if it were ever withdrawn."
Thousands don't want to see Freeview TV retired, either. There's an active online petition circulating across the UK to save Freeview TV, by the non-profit organisation Silver Voices.
Scotland is another example of why this matters. Rural and island communities there still rely heavily on signals coming through their aerials rather than broadband connections.
Additionally, pushing everyone online could land viewers with unexpected broadband bills. Supporters of ending terrestrial broadcasts often argue that operating parallel infrastructures is financially unsustainable.
But not everyone's on board with keeping Freeview alive for so long. The Future TV Taskforce, which brings together the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, STV, S4C and Everyone TV, has a very different vision.
These major broadcasters want television to shift towards internet-based delivery during the mid-2030s instead — saying online viewing is growing while fewer people depend on traditional aerials.
The group told MPs that just 2.8 million homes still rely on terrestrial TV without having access to streaming services. And that's not all.
A Green Paper — a consultation document that sets out proposals for discussion before a final decision has been made — outlining the transition away from Freeview and Freesat, which offer access to free-to-air channels via a satellite dish, will be published in the coming weeks, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall have already signed off on the details of the paper, its sources claim.
Research suggests Freeview households will tumble from 9.7 million to under one million by 2034 as people switch to streaming.
After all, millions of Britons have already flocked to broadband-based broadcasts, a trend that only looks set to continue until it supersedes Freeview by the end of the decade. Streaming can be more convenient, since you're not restricted to where the aerial is fitted, so place your television anywhere in your home.
