Download or read book The digital switchover help scheme written by Great Britain: Department for Culture, Media and Sport and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-05-04 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Digital Switchover Help Scheme is focused on providing practical assistance and support to those individuals who need it most, so ensuring that no one will be left behind in the switch to digital TV. It is aimed at people aged 75 and over, people with significant disabilities and people who are registered blind or registered partially sighted. People with significant disabilities are those who receive Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance. The assistance and support provided by the Scheme will include: providing equipment to convert one TV set; help with installation; follow-up support. This provision will be free to the poorest eligible households (ie those on Income Support, Job Seeker's Allowance or Pension Credit). Other eligible households will need to pay a one-off modest fee. This Agreement between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the BBC covers: principles, provisions and definitions; eligibility, making and determining applications; assistance under the scheme, and review and appeal procedures; service standards, charges and relations with other bodies. It also explains the arrangements concerning expenditure, financing and borrowing, the governance and accountability of the scheme, and outlines the types of assistance available under the scheme.
Download or read book Preparations for Digital Switchover written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Department for Culture, Media & Sport and the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform are jointly responsible for digital switchover, the programme to convert over 1,100 tv transmitters to ditigal and switch off analogue signals by 2012. The Departments have passed to the BBC responsibility for funding the public information campaign and delivering the help scheme, and set aside £803 million of licence fee money to pay for these activities. The BBC is accountable to the BBC Trust for the value for money with which it uses the licence fee, not the Departments. Therefore the Departments have no means of holding the BBC to account for this use of licence fee money. To data, take-up of the help scheme has been significantly lower than the Departments expected. If help scheme take-up rates experienced in Copeland, the first area to switch, were replicated across the country, there would be a £250 million surplus in the licence fee settlement. The Departments have not decided how any surplus would be handled and it is felt generally that the Departments have not taken effective action to protection consumer interests.
Download or read book Digital switchover of television and radio in the United Kingdom written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Select Committee on Communications and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-29 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee warns of a major public reaction against radio digital switchover, scheduled for 2015, unless the Government make the case for switchover and keep the public informed about its impact. There is 'public confusion and industry uncertainty' over radio switchover and concern that due to the lack of public information people are still buying analogue radios which will be out of date in a few years time. Retailers gave evidence stating that they are not getting adequate information on switchover plans so are unable to offer consumers accurate guidance when making purchases. The report also points out that car manufacturers are still fitting analogue radios in new cars and digital radios will not be fitted as standard in all cars until 2013.The radio switchover is contrasted with the television switchover programme, finding that the benefits of TV switchover were well understood, in contrast surveys show that the public are generally happy with the present FM radio system and with the range of programmes that are provided.The Committee recommends urgent steps on a range of actions including: providing a detailed plan for universal digital radio coverage including how it is to be funded; developing a policy for the long term use of FM; devising a help scheme for radio switchover financed by general taxation rather than the BBC licence fee; ensuring new digital car radios are fitted with a multi-standard chip to enable their use overseas; encouraging radio manufacturers and retailers to devise a sensible scrappage scheme for redundant analogue radios. It is also noted that the BBC and Government disagree over whether the cost of universal digital coverage of their national stations can be met under the current licence fee. The report says that it is essential that a 'firm and unambiguous' plan for funding the completion of build-out of the digital radio service is put in place as soon as possible. The report concludes reversing current policy would be unproductive given the amount of investment in digital radio already and while the switchover in 2015 is ambitious a change of target date is not favoured at this stage.
Download or read book Preparations for digital switchover written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-02-27 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In September 2005 the Government, after consultation with the broadcasting industry and Ofcom, announced a programme to replace analogue television broadcasts with digital television, region by region, between 2008 and 2012 (digital switchover). This report considers how this objective is being pursued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (the Departments), who have joint responsibility for delivering the policy objective. Switchover involves the conversion of more than a thousand television transmitter sites in order to ensure public service broadcasting is available to some 25 million households in digital instead of analogue form. Unless households have at least one television set capable of receiving digital television signals they will lose access to broadcast television after switchover. The Departments estimate it will cost the UK economy £4.6 billion, mostly borne by consumers through the cost of acquiring and installing digital receiving equipment. The Departments estimate the cost will be outweighed by benefits to consumers and business totalling £6.3 billion. The programme is progressing well, with main set conversion at 85 per cent and a successful switchover in the flagship area of Copeland. The complexity of the non-contractual delivery and governance arrangements poses inherent risks to the objectives. Public awareness of the switchover is high, though not in some sections of the population. The programme's communications and help scheme activities are funded through ring-fenced amounts within the licence fee spent by the BBC, and the BBC has started to set performance measures for the £800 million ring-fenced for switchover activities. Evidence from Copeland suggests that take-up of the help scheme might be significantly lower than that anticipated by the Departments in their cost model.
Download or read book Digital inclusion in Wales written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Welsh Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-08-04 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Wales Office and the Welsh Assembly Government must ensure UK digital inclusion initiatives meet Welsh needs and build on existing good work to deliver on Welsh digital ambitions, says the Welsh Affairs Committee in a report published today. This report "Digital Inclusion in Wales", examines the use of digital technologies in Wales, highlights the urgent need for the eradication of broadband ’notspots' - areas with limited or no access to high speed internet connections - and says this issue must continue to receive priority attention. There should be more support to help a wider range of people use technology effectively. Employers told the Committee they need staff with better IT skills and more training opportunities. The Committee recommends the Welsh Assembly Government explicitly includes this issue in its digital inclusion strategy. The digital inclusion agenda is a complex mix of reserved and devolved matters. This brings a risk that key issues can be overlooked, for example no account has been taken of Welsh language speakers' needs in the Government's Digital Inclusion Action Plan. The Secretary of State for Wales must ensure that bodies in Wales across all sectors are fully engaged with initiatives and that the next stage of Digital Britain adequately reflects Welsh needs. Higher education institutions also have a vital role to play and should be involved in any new research opportunities. The Welsh Assembly already has successful digital inclusion projects in Wales and it should find a way to become fully involved with the UK digital inclusion and Digital Britain work so it does not miss out on policy developments and funding opportunities. The Committee also recommends the creation of a one-stop shop providing advice on the risks for young people using technology, and commends the Assembly's work tackling internet related crimes which it says should be promoted as part of the economic development strategy in Wales.
Download or read book Digital Britain written by Great Britain: Department for Culture, Media and Sport and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-06-16 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this document the Government sets out a programme of action designed to position the UK as a long-term leader in communications, creating an industrial framework that will fully harness digital technology. The UK's digital dividend will transform the way business operates, enhance the delivery of public services, stimulate communications infrastructure ready for next-generation distribution and preserve Britain's status as a global hub for media and entertainment. This approach seeks to maximise the digital opportunities for all citizens. The report contains: (1) an analysis of the levels of digital participation, skills and access needed for the digital future, with a plan for increasing participation, and more coherent public structures to deal with it; (2) an analysis of communications infrastructure capabilities; (3) plans for the future growth of creative industries, proposals for a legal and regulatory framework for intellectual property and proposals on skills and investment support and innovation; (4) a restatement of the need for specific market intervention in the UK content market, with implications and challenges for the BBC and C4 Corporation and other forms of independent and suitably funded news; (5) an analysis of the skills, research and training markets, and what supply side issues need addressing for a fully functioning digital economy; (6) a framework for digital security and digital safety at international and national levels and recognition that a world of high speed connectivity needs a digital framework not an analogue one; (7) a review of what all of this means for the Government and how digital governance in the information age demands new structures, new safeguards, and new data management, access and transparency rules.
Download or read book Department for Culture Media and Sport annual report 2007 written by Great Britain: Department for Culture, Media and Sport and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-05-17 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With correction dated May 2007
Download or read book Analogue Switch off written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Culture, Media and Sport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-03-29 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Analogue Switch-off : A signal change in television, second report of session 2005-06, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence
Download or read book The Ownership of the News written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Select Committee on Communications and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines the impact that media ownership can have on the news and the effect of consolidation on the newspaper, television and radio industries. The newspaper industry is facing severe problems as readership levels fall; young people turn to other sources of news; and advertising moves to the internet. Newspaper companies are having to make savings and this is having a particular impact on investment in news gathering and investigative journalism. In television news the same trends are evident. Most news programmes have smaller audiences than they had ten years ago; younger people in particular are watching less television news; commercial television channels are losing advertising revenue to the internet. New media, in particular the internet, are having a major impact on the way news is produced and consumed, but the traditional forms of news are likely to be the most popular sources of news for the foreseeable future. The proliferation of news sources has not been matched by a corresponding expansion in professional and investigative journalism. Owners can and do influence the news in a variety of ways. They are in a position to have significant political impact. The consolidation of media ownership adds to the risk of disproportionate influence. The Committee recommends reform of the public interest test criteria for newspaper mergers and also believes that reforming cross-media ownership restrictions on regional and local newspaper and radio mergers is necessary. The Committee does not consider changes in ownership regulation and competition law to be enough if the aim is to ensure a range of voices and high quality news. The public service broadcasting system in the United Kingdom provides an invaluable news service for the citizen and it is crucial that the contribution of all the public service broadcasters is maintained.
Download or read book BBC licence fee settlement and annual report written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Culture, Media and Sport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011-05-19 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Culture Media and Sport Committee says that the main outcomes of the BBC Trust's strategic review do not move the BBC on to the extent required by current circumstances, and that the incoming Chairman will have much to get grips with. The new licence fee agreement was reached "unexpectedly" in October 2010 between the Department for Culture Media and Sport and the BBC, but without any time for wider consultation with viewers or Parliament. The Committee believes the agreement reached is a reasonable one, but the process undermined confidence in both the Government's and the BBC's commitment to transparency and accountability. On the partnership between BBC and S4C, it is unclear how S4C can retain its independence under the new arrangements. It is extraordinary that the Government and the BBC should agree such wide-ranging changes without consultation or giving S4C any notice or say at all. The Committee is particularly concerned that National Audit Office still does not have the promised access to conduct independent assessments of the BBC's value for money. The Committee is also disappointed that banded information on talent salaries is still not in the public domain. The BBC opened itself to predictable ridicule with the decision to hire a "migration manager" who had to commute from the United States to manage the transition to the new Salford site. The report concludes that big questions remain over how radically the BBC needs to reconfigure both content and delivery in the years ahead.
Download or read book Policy and Marketing Strategies for Digital Media written by Yu-li Liu and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-04-16 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With digital media becoming ever more prevalent, it is essential to study policy and marketing strategies tailored to this new development. In this volume, contributors examine government policy for a range of media, including digital television, IPTV, mobile TV, and OTT TV. They also address marketing strategies that can harness the unique nature of digital media’s innovation, production design, and accessibility. They draw on case studies in Asia, North America, and Europe to offer best practices for both policy and marketing strategies.
Download or read book Parliamentary Debates Hansard written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 924 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Public Service Broadcasting written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. Select Committee on Communications and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report responds to the current crisis in public service broadcasting, particularly in the advertiser-funded television sector. This has been caused by three factors: (1) the move from analogue to digital broadcasting means that established forms of support are losing value; (2) viewers are increasingly taking advantage of technological developments that provide alternatives to conventional broadcasting, such as the internet and the many commercial channels; (3) the speed and severity of the current economic recession. The Committee believes that the commercially-funded public broadcasters - ITV, Channel Four, Five and BSkyB - should continue to provide an alternative to the BBC, which should not become an even more dominant provider of public service programming. Market forces will not resolve the crisis and intervention is justified to ensure sufficient public service provision that the market will nor provide free for the public. There is a need for financial clarity on the financial position of all the public service broadcasters, and Channel Four's position should be independently reviewed. A partnership between Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide, rather than a full merger, would be a quicker means of making extra resources available to Channel 4. The BBC's other partnership proposals are welcomed. An element of contestable funding should be introduced, such funding to come from: (a) the underspend on the digital switchover; (b) continuance of funding from the licence fee after 2012 when the switchover programme ends; (c) the use of at least part of analogue spectrum revenue after 2012. Ultimately, part of the licence fee could be used to support public service content provision outside the BBC.
Download or read book Disability and Digital Television Cultures written by Katie Ellis and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-01-18 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Disability and Digital Television Cultures offers an important addition to scholarly studies at the intersection of disability and media, examining disability in the context of digital television access, representation and reception. Television, as a central medium of communication, has marginalized people with disability through both representation on screen and the lack of accessibility to this medium. With accessibility options becoming available as television is switched to digital transmissions, audience research into television representations must include a corresponding consideration of access. This book provides a comprehensive and critical study of the way people with disability access and watch digital TV. International case studies and media reports are complimented by findings of a user-focused study into accessibility and representation captured during the Australian digital television switchover in 2013-2014. This book will provide a reliable, independent guide to fundamental shifts in media access while also offering insight from the disability community. It will be essential reading for researchers working on disability and media, as well as television, communications and culture; upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate students in cultural studies; along with general readers with an interest in disability and digital culture.
Download or read book DAB Digital Radio Licensed To Fail written by Grant Goddard and published by Radio Books. This book was released on 2010-09-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Goddard offers a blow-by-blow chronicle of the efforts to implement DAB as a replacement for FM and AM radio in Britain, from the deliberations of the Digital Radio Working Group in 2008 to the legislation of the Digital Economy Act during the final days of the Labour government in 2010.
Download or read book Shut Off written by Gregory Taylor and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 2013 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A critical analysis of the most significant technological change in Canadian television history.
Download or read book The Digital Television Revolution written by M. Starks and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-08-15 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This account of the global switch to digital television, from its origins to its emerging outcomes, provides an understanding of how digital television is converging with the Internet. It pictures a future in which the democratic role of the media, freedom of expression and democratic participation can be enhanced.
