Free-to-air digital TV from next year

The Government confirmed today free-to-air digital television would be phased in from next year.

The long-awaited "free-to-air" digital television plan was unveiled at the Beehive today, heralding the beginning of the end of fuzzy pictures for rural residents.

However, consumers may still have to pay hundreds of dollars for decoders or satellite dishes to access Freeview TV.

In April, the Government announced it had has asked Television New Zealand to explore a "co-operative approach" with other broadcasters to make the transition to digital TV.

TVNZ had brought together a group of free-to-air broadcasters -- including Canwest, the New Zealand Racing Board, and Maori Television -- to develop proposals for a jointly run digital platform called Freeview, based on a model used in Britain.

The process of shifting to digital will begin next year.

Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey said the "joined up" approach to digital provided the best opportunities not only commercially but also in giving expression to New Zealand's "shared cultural identity".

Freeview was expected to involve a dual delivery system -- either digital terrestrial television (DTT), delivered to aerials via transmitters around the country -- or straight to households via satellite.

The satellite service will enable free broadcasts to be received by isolated households, which currently only have pay television (Sky) as a viewing option.

The DTT service would act as a backup in the event of a satellite failure, as happened with Sky television recently.

Digital free-to-air television has been debated regularly since a proposal from TVNZ to launch it was canned by the incoming Labour Government in 2000.

The concept came a step closer this year when CanWest MediaWorks and TVNZ reached an agreement to share a satellite through a sub-leasing arrangement with state-owned enterprise Broadcasting Communications Ltd (BCL).

- NZPA