Early analogue switchoff keeps NZ in the picture

Old style TVs will need a set top box once analogue TV is switched off between September 2012 and late 2013. Photo / Thinkstock

Broadcasters and telcos were relieved on Thursday when the Government brought forward the date for analogue switchoff - and a phased shift to wholly digital broadcasting by November 2013.

The change - starting in Hawkes Bay and the West Coast in September 2012 - is two years ahead of the Government's promise of going digital by 2015, which could have seen New Zealand trailing other countries in the OECD.

It follows heavy lobbying by the broadcasting and telecommunications industries and puts New Zealand one month ahead of Australia. Auckland will be among the last areas to lose analogue.

The move is part of an international change. Analogue frequencies are being shifted from broadcasting to be used for super-fast broadband and mobile technology.

It kills two birds with one stone and earns the Government a digital dividend along the way. Telecommunications Minister Steven Joyce hopes the sale will net the Government around $100 million.

He also indicates an economic impact of $1.1 billion to $2.4 billion over 20 years.

Broadcasters - including TVNZ and TV3, which have maintained two delivery systems since the digital Freeview service started in 2008 - have hailed digital as a revolutionary change in the way we watch TV.

The digital revolution is part of a much wider and rapidly growing change in how we consume media. It opens the door to interactivity and convergence between TV and the internet.

The ultra high frequency rights can be used for 4G broadcasts used for high-speed mobile broadband data and so feed into Government plans to deliver fast broadband, particularly in rural areas.

Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman prepared for some political fallout, saying that inevitably some would resist the change. He said the Government was looking at ways to assist people to obtain decoders in time for the switchover.

Digital future
* Analogue TV signals that have served New Zealand for 50 years will be switched off in November 2013.
* After that viewers will need a digital-enabled TV with a digital tuner or a set-top box for either Freeview, Sky TV or TelstraClear.
* 70 per cent of New Zealanders already receive digital signals - through Sky TV, Freeview and Telstra Clear. Most new TV sets being sold are digital.