Freeview not expanding as fast as first thought??
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 by Jordan2004
I recently found this interesting article in the NZ herald about the increase and expansion of the digital TV platform, Freeview. The link to the article can be found here.
Anyways, what I discovered was that since Freeview’s NZ launch back in 2006, it is estimated that over 250,000 Freeview decoders have been sold in NZ, therefore reaching around 16 percent of the population.
The government originally said that they would switch off the analogue TV signals when digital TV reached 75% of households or by 2012, whichever comes soon. However, in this article it states that government is planning to switch off analogue TV signals by 2015.
Now I’m thinking, why would they push back the shut off date??? Is it because the adoption of digital TV wasn’t as rapid as they thought it would be? Or is it because the set-top boxes required to watch digital television are too pricey??
I believe that the true reason for lack of adoption is the added value of having the Freeview platform. As a Freeview HD user, I can confirm that the main added benefit of having Freeview HD is to watch channels 1, 2 and 3 in HD. HD (high definition) signals make no difference on the old crt TV’s, basically because they are not capable of displaying signal. So what Freeview should be doing is adding channels which have real value.
Freeview could really up its game if TVNZ or Mediaworks launched new channels with current and hit shows in the United States, that don’t already fit into the current weekly broadcast schedule.
Anyways, what I discovered was that since Freeview’s NZ launch back in 2006, it is estimated that over 250,000 Freeview decoders have been sold in NZ, therefore reaching around 16 percent of the population.
The government originally said that they would switch off the analogue TV signals when digital TV reached 75% of households or by 2012, whichever comes soon. However, in this article it states that government is planning to switch off analogue TV signals by 2015.
Now I’m thinking, why would they push back the shut off date??? Is it because the adoption of digital TV wasn’t as rapid as they thought it would be? Or is it because the set-top boxes required to watch digital television are too pricey??
I believe that the true reason for lack of adoption is the added value of having the Freeview platform. As a Freeview HD user, I can confirm that the main added benefit of having Freeview HD is to watch channels 1, 2 and 3 in HD. HD (high definition) signals make no difference on the old crt TV’s, basically because they are not capable of displaying signal. So what Freeview should be doing is adding channels which have real value.
Freeview could really up its game if TVNZ or Mediaworks launched new channels with current and hit shows in the United States, that don’t already fit into the current weekly broadcast schedule.
You might be right, perhaps consumers just don't see enough value in Freeview yet.
On a related topic, Russell Brown was speculating yesterday on the challenge that TiVo will have in breaking into the NZ market: http://publicaddress.net/6076#post6076
I agree, there doesn't appear to be much value in Freeview at the moment. But I think it also has to do with an unwillingness to throw out a perfectly functional crt TV (or several), and having to fork out the cash for a new one (or several!). Especially when you consider the current financial crisis. I imagine that for most households, being able to watch television in better quality isn't one of the top priorities at the moment.