CAI Blog for February 8th 2012.
FINAL COUNTDOWN TO FIRST SWITCH OF 2012
Freeview viewers in parts of Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey will need to retune their TVs and boxes this week as switchover begins at the Hannington transmitter group. Analogue BBC Two will be switched off on Wednesday, 8 February, making BBC digital channels available to thousands of homes served by local ‘relay’ transmitters for the first time. All remaining analogue signals will be turned off on 22 February, allowing more channels to be broadcast from relays.
SWITCHOVER PROGRAMME PRAISED IN PARLIAMENT
More than 130 MPs, peers and stakeholders attended the annual parliamentary reception of the digital TV switchover all-party group. The reception, sponsored by Jamie Reed MP, included speeches from Digital UK Chief Executive David Scott and John Whittingdale MP, Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, who praised the smooth running of switchover to date.
LOCAL HEROES PLEDGE TO LEND A HELPING HAND
Football clubs, fire and rescue teams and police forces across the Meridian region are backing the Switchover Help Scheme’s ‘helping hand’ campaign. Morty Hollis, President of Worthing FC, is one of many who have pledged to tell local residents about the practical help available to convert one TV to digital. Morty is urging all supporters to follow in his footsteps by passing the message on to any eligible older or disabled people they know.
SKY VIEWERS DEMAND MORE FROM BBC AND ITV
Sky HD viewers can now watch programmes from ITV on-demand via the Anytime+ service. Classic shows including Prime Suspect, Lewis and Cold Feet are available via a new dedicated ITV Player section of the EPG. The BBC iPlayer will join the service in the near future. The satellite broadcaster gained 100,000 new customers in the final quarter of 2011 and has also announced plans for an internet TV service.