The BBC Trust has given provisional approval for the Corporation to participate in a free-to-view satellite television service, commonly referred to as “Freesat” (not to be confused with BSkyB’s own Freesat from Sky).
The Trust decided that the proposal — which would see the BBC team up with ITV and, possibly, Channel 4, to produce a range of receivers that will be able to receive unencrypted satellite transmissions. Quite how the technical side of transmission and reception will be implemented is unclear — this post from ukfree.tv is over 12 months old, but still valid. For the consumer, though, there would be a straightforward path — a one-off fee (for hardware and installation), and then that’s it.
Acting BBC Chairman Chitra Bharucha says:
A new, guaranteed subscription-free satellite service would provide the public another option when deciding which platform to choose. Over half of those yet to switch fall outside the Freeview coverage area. For these homes, the new service would mean being able to access BBC digital services they have already paid for via their licence fee but until now have been unable to receive on a guaranteed subscription-free basis.
We have considered the market impact and whilst there may be some negative effects, in our view these should be balanced against the potential positive market impact of greater choice. Overall, we believe a “Freesat” service to be in the public interest and we hope that other public service broadcasters would join the BBC in a joint venture. We welcome all responses to our provisional conclusion during the consultation.
The public consultation is now open — and, as with the previous consultation on the BBC’s new media and iPlayer proposals, input from the public is as important as that from interested industry parties.
