Setback for HDTV Freeview
Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV The MPs on the cross-party media "select committee" have rebuffed the BBC and ITV call for the frequencies released at switchover to be used for high definition services.
Instead, they say the regulator Ofcom should be allowed to sell the frequencies off to the highest bidder.
Unless the BBC and ITV can afford to pay for the frequencies from their existing funds, there will be no Freeview-style HDTV in the UK.
The BBC is paying 600 million to fund set-top boxes for digital switchover from existing funds and is spending another 1,800 million upgrading the UK transmitter network and 14 million to help Channel 4. This is a total of 2.414 billion of spending
However, Ofcom and hence the Treasury will now get all the money from selling of the terrestrial UHF frequencies.
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