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There are contrasting views on switchover this week (19 April) from either side of the Atlantic.
In the UK, the Government had to re-state its commitment to switchover in the face of Opposition criticism, which described the Government's plans for switchover as 'in disarray'.
In America, a leading industry figure said: "The digital transition is our national opportunity and destiny ... complacency could make it a [broadcasters'] swan song."
At Westminster, the attack was led by Julie Kirkbride, the Shadow Spokesperson on Culture, Media and Sport issues She claimed that the recent Ofcom report (See 'The Case for Switchover'), raised doubts about the digital switchover timetable.
This says that 95 per cent of households must be able to receive digital television before it will consider authorising ending the analogue signal. But Kirkbride told the minister in the Commons: "Ofcom points out that only three quarters of households will be able to receive a terrestrial digital signal and not all the extra households needed to take that figure up to 95 per cent. How will the government meet their own targets?"
The Secretary of State Tessa Jowell dismissed the criticism, saying:
"Ofcom has made it clear during the past two or three years that it will not be possible to increase the reach of DTT [digital terrestrial television] which is one of our three digital platforms, until the analogue signal is switched off, allowing the release of the spectrum currently occupied by both the digital and analogue signals. [Miss Kirkbride] need fear no sinister effects at all.
"The matter is purely technical, and is now being taken into account in planning properly for upgrading the transmitters and making the announcement on the date of switchover in due course. "
The Opposition spokeswoman hit back pointing out that in America all new TV sets are to have digital decoders by 2007. "By contrast," she said "In the UK 19 million analogue sets have been sold in the past five years - just 400,000 have a digital decoder."
The final decision, said the Minister, was not for Government alone but must involve the views of the British people 'who have strong views'. She promised "We will go ahead and achieve our plans for digital switchover ... with the full support of Ofcom."
In the US, it was the free, terrestrial broadcasters who were threatened with oblivion unless they embraced their digital future. The warning came from Gary Shapiro, President and CEO, of the Consumers Electronics Association speaking at the NAB Engineering Conference in Las Vegas. In his keynote speech, he outlined series of proposals for broadcasters to maintain relevance.
At the top of his agenda, Shapiro urged the broadcasting industry to shift to high-definition television (HDTV) quickly. He called on broadcasters to promote their HDTV offerings more robustly and broadcast their HD channels at full power. He also warned them not to be sidetracked by other "technological mirages" such as multicasting.
"The market has spoken - HDTV is driving this transition. So why continue to lose market share to HBO, Showtime, Discovery, ESPN and everyone else that offers 24-hour HDTV channels? Don't you think that the nine million Americans who already have HD will be looking to watch quality programming in HDTV?"
Shapiro also encouraged broadcasters to use and leverage the surround sound capabilities of HDTV. "Sound matters," said Shapiro. "It is part of the HDTV experience. Use it! Consumers notice and appreciate it and it makes a difference." In the same vein, Shapiro called on broadcasters to rush to HD radio, noting that the technology is now showing its success and looks like a marketplace hit.
"Sound also matters in the radio world," Shapiro argued. "Satellite services will grow but radio broadcasters have a window of opportunity to reclaim their share of American ears. But it does require broadcasters to convert their stations to digital broadcasting and aggressively promote HD radio to consumers. If radio broadcasters are complacent, HD radio will wither and broadcasters will further lose market share."
Shapiro also urged the broadcast industry to protect consumer home recording rights, arguing that consumers will resist HD radio and other new broadcast formats if it means they have to forfeit their normal, non-commercial home recording rights. Further, he encouraged broadcasters to stand up and fight for the First Amendment in an era of increased regulatory scrutiny and dangerously vague definitions for indecency.
"As fear over government action dilutes broadcast creativity, as consolidation reduces diversity and as the business model squeezes finances, broadcasters must act to ensure that broadcasting does not become a bland, ignored and irrelevant wasteland," he argued.
In the UK, the Government had to re-state its commitment to switchover in the face of Opposition criticism, which described the Government's plans for switchover as 'in disarray'.
In America, a leading industry figure said: "The digital transition is our national opportunity and destiny ... complacency could make it a [broadcasters'] swan song."
At Westminster, the attack was led by Julie Kirkbride, the Shadow Spokesperson on Culture, Media and Sport issues She claimed that the recent Ofcom report (See 'The Case for Switchover'), raised doubts about the digital switchover timetable.
This says that 95 per cent of households must be able to receive digital television before it will consider authorising ending the analogue signal. But Kirkbride told the minister in the Commons: "Ofcom points out that only three quarters of households will be able to receive a terrestrial digital signal and not all the extra households needed to take that figure up to 95 per cent. How will the government meet their own targets?"
The Secretary of State Tessa Jowell dismissed the criticism, saying:
"Ofcom has made it clear during the past two or three years that it will not be possible to increase the reach of DTT [digital terrestrial television] which is one of our three digital platforms, until the analogue signal is switched off, allowing the release of the spectrum currently occupied by both the digital and analogue signals. [Miss Kirkbride] need fear no sinister effects at all.
"The matter is purely technical, and is now being taken into account in planning properly for upgrading the transmitters and making the announcement on the date of switchover in due course. "
The Opposition spokeswoman hit back pointing out that in America all new TV sets are to have digital decoders by 2007. "By contrast," she said "In the UK 19 million analogue sets have been sold in the past five years - just 400,000 have a digital decoder."
The final decision, said the Minister, was not for Government alone but must involve the views of the British people 'who have strong views'. She promised "We will go ahead and achieve our plans for digital switchover ... with the full support of Ofcom."
In the US, it was the free, terrestrial broadcasters who were threatened with oblivion unless they embraced their digital future. The warning came from Gary Shapiro, President and CEO, of the Consumers Electronics Association speaking at the NAB Engineering Conference in Las Vegas. In his keynote speech, he outlined series of proposals for broadcasters to maintain relevance.
At the top of his agenda, Shapiro urged the broadcasting industry to shift to high-definition television (HDTV) quickly. He called on broadcasters to promote their HDTV offerings more robustly and broadcast their HD channels at full power. He also warned them not to be sidetracked by other "technological mirages" such as multicasting.
"The market has spoken - HDTV is driving this transition. So why continue to lose market share to HBO, Showtime, Discovery, ESPN and everyone else that offers 24-hour HDTV channels? Don't you think that the nine million Americans who already have HD will be looking to watch quality programming in HDTV?"
Shapiro also encouraged broadcasters to use and leverage the surround sound capabilities of HDTV. "Sound matters," said Shapiro. "It is part of the HDTV experience. Use it! Consumers notice and appreciate it and it makes a difference." In the same vein, Shapiro called on broadcasters to rush to HD radio, noting that the technology is now showing its success and looks like a marketplace hit.
"Sound also matters in the radio world," Shapiro argued. "Satellite services will grow but radio broadcasters have a window of opportunity to reclaim their share of American ears. But it does require broadcasters to convert their stations to digital broadcasting and aggressively promote HD radio to consumers. If radio broadcasters are complacent, HD radio will wither and broadcasters will further lose market share."
Shapiro also urged the broadcast industry to protect consumer home recording rights, arguing that consumers will resist HD radio and other new broadcast formats if it means they have to forfeit their normal, non-commercial home recording rights. Further, he encouraged broadcasters to stand up and fight for the First Amendment in an era of increased regulatory scrutiny and dangerously vague definitions for indecency.
"As fear over government action dilutes broadcast creativity, as consolidation reduces diversity and as the business model squeezes finances, broadcasters must act to ensure that broadcasting does not become a bland, ignored and irrelevant wasteland," he argued.