Freesat - do we need another digital TV platform?
By Chris Green in Editorial
Posted in TV and Movies, Misc, Broadband on
Today is the official launch of Freesat, effectively the satellite TV version of the Freeview digital television service.
The concept is simple: Buy a cheap box from a high street retailer like Argos, Comet or an independent, either hook it up to an existing Sky digital dish or spend about £80 for a man in a van to come round and supply and fit a dish, plug in and start watching around 80 free to air TV channels, including HD channels.
But why do we need it?
Freeview has been a runaway success, far exceeding anyone’s realistic expectations and proving the BBC and its former director general Greg Dyke right when they collectively argued that the UK’s DTT spectrum should have been reserved for free-to-air broadcasting rather than given over to the folly that was OnDigital/ITV Digital.
Its limited capacity has proven to be enough for a modest, but successful, crop of channels and data services. However, plans by Ofcom to repurpose some of that space for four HD channels at best demonstrate that spectrum so limited (and expensive to acquire for broadcasters) should not be deployed to HD at a time when audiences are so limited.
Satellite is the answer here. Capacity is cheap and plentiful, allowing for not only more standard definition channels to flourish, but for free-to-air HD services to get off the ground and build an audience without cannibalising SD services and viewers. The same applies to data services, which are also prevented from launching on Freeview due to a lack of capacity rather than the lack of a willing audience.
Free-to-air channels of either type that can neither afford or justify the cost of a slot on Freeview can reach an audience without having to pay for (or wait for) a space in Sky’s pay TV programme guide.
The hardware costs are realistic for launch, and will fall drastically, particularly if Freesat achieves even a quarter of the success of Freeview. Boxes are cheap, starting at £50 for a basic standard definition, going up to about £150 for a proper HD box. The software used by the cheap boxes is very similar to the platform used in most cheap Freeview boxes, reducing the learning curve.
For HD TV owners wanting to access the limited amount of free-to-air high definition content out there without having to take on a Sky or cable subscription, Freesat offers a practical option. Going forward, the service may even provide a gateway for over-the-air movie download delivery, satellite broadband and more.
Rated: 86.67% (6 votes)
Loading ...Comment by Matt - May 7, 2008 on 2:48 pm
So confusing, Freesat, Freesat from Sky, two different services, competing with other options.
1. Freeview - aka Terrestrial digital, technically DVB-T.
Born from the ashes of OnDigital/ITV Digital, and by far the cheapest system - many new TVs will have it built in. This is the choice if you have an adequate TV antenna and do not want a dish.
The demands of possible HD upgrades and the release of more space to subscription services (topup TV) represnt a battleground on this platform, and a battle which will not benefit the average user.
2. Sky, with options from package subscription, Sky freesat deal, or FTA channels on a system without an active freesat (in some cases, ex-subscription) card. HD is not available without subscription.
3. Cable (in cabled areas only) - no true freeview option, though free TV is currently offered with the standard phone line - http://allyours.virginmedia.com/websales/product.do?id=3001
A very limited HD service is available at additional cost.
4. Freesat (BBC Freesat?) - it may be a good thing if the platform carries no subscription content at all, as it would mean no unfair competition for space.
HD (currently far more limited than what was talked about at launch) or SD - according to which box you buy.
The SD box at Argos is £49.99 (out of stock) and installation is a further £80)
The strongest competition for BBC freesat is this deal:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5321502/Trail/searchtext%3ESKY.htm
For those who have not used any previous box/dish offer from Sky, for just £75, you get:
Sky Box with viewing card
Sky Dish
Installation (standard)
4 channel mixes for 4 months, cancel them at the end of the period and revert to “freesat from Sky” services.
The £75 “pay once” deal from Sky is hard to beat, though there is no HD option.
Comment by Simon Bisson & Mary Branscombe - May 10, 2008 on 9:06 pm
Did you see that there is so little H content that Freesat can afford that it’s talking about making HD a red-button on-demand service rather than an actual channel? But anything with more of a choice than Freeview is good news…
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