Voters are likely to penalize Labour if the Government advances with plans to switch off free terrestrial TV, MPs have warned in a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, reports BritPanorama.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is expected to approve a BBC-backed initiative to terminate the Freeview service, which is utilized by 10 million households, as audiences transition to internet-only streaming TV.
However, these plans are raising significant concern among Labour MPs who fear backlash from constituents unable to afford high-speed broadband required to access services they currently utilize for free.
An open letter to the Prime Minister, obtained by The i Paper and signed by 17 MPs from various factions within the party, warns that proceeding with a digital switch-off could endanger Labour’s hold on crucial marginal seats in the upcoming election.
“The households who depend most heavily on terrestrial TV are disproportionately older, disproportionately female, disproportionately on lower incomes, and disproportionately in the towns and coastal communities where our majorities are thinnest,” the letter states, signed by MPs including left-winger Cat Smith and centrist Luke Akehurst.
Additionally, the letter articulates: “Asking them to take out a broadband contract they cannot comfortably afford, in order to keep watching the television they already have, is not a transition. It is a charge. And it will be read as one.”
The proposed transition would eliminate access to over 70 standard channels and up to 15 HD channels, including major networks such as BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5, via Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT).
Cost of TV ‘could increase by £200’
Estimates suggest that if a broadband subscription becomes necessary, the overall cost of television viewing could rise by £200 due to additional broadband expenses for some households.
Notably, the letter’s signatories include Joe Morris, who resigned as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) over the leadership dispute with Keir Starmer, signalling deep concerns about the proposal among party members.
MPs assert, “Across our constituencies, there is one piece of national infrastructure that households rely on and almost no one talks about: the aerial on the roof.”
They continue, “For pensioners on a fixed income, for families managing tight budgets, for people in rural areas where broadband is patchy or unaffordable, Freeview is not a back-up. It is still how they watch the news, follow the football, keep company through the day. It costs them nothing beyond the licence fee, and it works.”
Several MPs, including Sarah Champion and Lorraine Beavers, who has openly called for Starmer’s resignation, are pushing the Government to use a forthcoming Green Paper to guarantee terrestrial television’s future beyond 2034 and into the 2040s.
This proposal, they argue, “quietly removes a universal free service from the people who can least afford to replace it, however well managed, is not one this party should put its name to without a great deal more thought than the debate has so far received.”
Currently, around 10 million homes depend on Freeview for television access. Nonetheless, the shift towards online viewing is gaining momentum, with forecasts indicating the number of UK homes lacking broadband may drop to just 220,000 by 2034.
Ministers to set out path to switch-off
Opponents of an early switch-off maintain that approximately 5 million homes will still primarily rely on Freeview by 2034, when existing DTT broadcasting licenses expire, necessitating many consumers to acquire a new internet-enabled TV or set-top box and enhance their broadband connections.
A spokesperson for DCMS remarked, “We are committed to ensuring that no-one is left behind as TV viewing increasingly moves to online platforms.”
They further mentioned, “That is why the government is currently working across the TV sector on a long-term sustainable approach to TV distribution in the UK. This will include a decision, as soon as possible, on whether to extend the current commitment to digital terrestrial television beyond 2034.”
It has been suggested that rather than establishing a firm switch-off date, ministers will seek public consultations on several options before arriving at a final decision. Any switch-off would hinge on the universal availability of affordable superfast broadband.
The Government has pledged to achieve nationwide gigabit-capable broadband coverage by 2032, ensuring that online television can be accessed in almost all areas apart from a few remote locations.
Labour MPs who have signed the letter include Starmer loyalist Perran Moon, Polly Billington, formerly a special adviser to Ed Miliband, as well as Jess Asato, Cat Eccles, Sarah Smith, and Steve Witherden.
