UK is set for a new free TV service

T

trog

Active Member
No mention of new content so I expect just a way to get more of the same and maybe an early nail in the coffin for ota Freeview and Freesat.
www.dailymail.co.uk

UK is set for a new free TV service to take on Netflix

The BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 announced that viewers with TV licences will soon be able to watch live TV channels with on-demand content streamed straight to their smart TV via the internet.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
 
Don't see how this is different from what many people have been doing for years. And more recently BT Youview has allowed its viewers to go totally online and do away with the need for a DTT aerial. No need for a new "smart" TV as a Firestick or Chromecast dongle is an inexpensive plug in option for older TV sets.
 
trog said:
maybe an early nail in the coffin for ota Freeview and Freesat.
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gomezz said:
No need for a new "smart" TV as a Firestick or Chromecast dongle is an inexpensive plug in option for older TV sets.
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But, unlimited broadband is expensive - and not everyone can get it (or the bandwidth is inadequate) or afford it.
And what about the ability to record and save TV programmes and films? Surely that is of concern to many on this forum. (Why would so many be interested in various parts of the custom firmware or other methods to save HiDef recordings, remove ads, etc.?). It becomes difficult if ota is discontinued.
 
EEPhil said:
But, unlimited broadband is expensive - and not everyone can get it (or the bandwidth is inadequate) or afford it.
And what about the ability to record and save TV programmes and films? Surely that is of concern to many on this forum. (Why would so many be interested in various parts of the custom firmware or other methods to save HiDef recordings, remove ads, etc.?). It becomes difficult if ota is discontinued.
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I suspect those are the reasons for it, they have never liked the public having the ability to record their content and having everything available on catch up will be a way to make recording not needed for most users and a way to make sure you cannot avoid ads. With the governments push to get more people able to get fibre broadband you can be sure that when the numbers are high enough those left behind will be of no consequence to them. The fact that the BBC is on board makes me wonder if they know the license fee will be scrapped in the near future and they will be forced to go commercial to survive as the more main channel content available on catch up will mean less people willing to pay for a TV licence.
 
trog said:
they will be forced to go commercial to survive as the more main channel content available on catch up will mean less people willing to pay for a TV licence.
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That's not strictly correct. When you use iPlayer to watch you have to declare that you have a TV licence*. No reason that should change (and the licence police will have your ip address, which is a big step up from the current situation).

* I've never clicked 'no' so I don't know what happens in that case ...
 
MikeSh said:
That's not strictly correct. When you use iPlayer to watch you have to declare that you have a TV licence*. No reason that should change (and the licence police will have your ip address, which is a big step up from the current situation).

* I've never clicked 'no' so I don't know what happens in that case ...
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Licence fee payer numbers are already dropping rapidly and if all channels apart from BBC were easily available on catch up those numbers would plummet. The BBC no longer produces enough quality material to make people pay for just their content. Even the government has talked about scrapping the licence fee and the BBC will be forced to change or cease to exist.
 
I don't think being "elderly" has much to do with it. Those generations have lived through more technological developments that were more tricky to use than that we see today as user-friendliness became a thing.
 
Black Hole said:
Does nobody care about the elderly population any more?
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That really depends on which 'body' you think about. The older generation hold a lot of the purse strings, so lots of people care about getting some of that money, and the politicians care very much about their vote.
 
Black Hole said:
It seems like somebody heard me:

But... promises, promises.
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Especially with an election due in the next year. All the parties are doing U-turns on everything at the moment. (Remember: "You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning!"). We can but hope.
 
EEPhil said:
All the parties are doing U-turns on everything at the moment.
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I read an interesting item the other day about the pension triple lock which is almost universally acknowledged as being unsustainable in the long term. But no politician/party wants to be the one to scrap it (Labour and Tories are both being somewhat vague at present).
The solution is for all parties to agree it has to be changed, thus removing it as an election item ... but that would mean politicians cooperating in a non-partisan way :roflmao:
 
As long as the likes of Telecom companies unilaterally increase their tariffs by several percent over the retail price index each year, it seems to me the triple lock is fair!
 
The UK already has a 250+ Mbps digital distribution network for broadcast TV covering a vast proportion of the population, and most of the rest get 120+ Mbps. You can get this into any and every room in a house, or a hotel, or a care home or whatever establishment you care to name for very low capital cost per person per year over the expected lifetime of the equipment used.
I'm not sure what problem 'they' are trying to solve, but it certainly involves less cost for 'them' and more for the telecomms. companies, who of course pass it on to 'us' in ever inflating bills above inflation let alone wage (or whatever) rises.
 
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