Communications Minister Steven Joyce, all but confirmed his take-over of the broadcasting portfolio with his announcement prior of initial frequency allocations for digital use of UHF television. When the review of spectrum was announced in August, Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman at least co-hosted the press statement.
Given he made his loot in private commercial radio, Joyce’s increasing grip on the portfolio is not encouraging if you happen to think it’s important to have free-to-air television into the future, including state-funded broadcasters.
In short, digital transmission allows 5 – 10 times more channels in the space bandwidth currently occupied by UHF transmissions. This will happen by 2014. Joyce’s announcement confirms MED’s August plan to see the current UHF spectrum, from 502 megahertz to 694mhz, used for digital television. The 694-802mhz freed up by the end of UHF transmission will be available for fourth generation mobile phone and broadband services. The value of this newly-available spectrum is estimated at $300m – the digital dividend. There are no shortage of ways this might be spent. The Iwi Leadership Group’s bid for a share of the airwaves that’s beyond ensuring for Maori broadcasting, may prove the Government’s biggest test of its relationship with the Maori Party and New Zealanders more generally.
Steven Joyce does say spectrum allocation decisions need to reflect the growth of the Freeview platform for free-to-air broadcasters including TVNZ, TV3 and Maori Television. This is important. New televisions are increasingly incorporating Freeview receivers. These allow free-to-air channels to be received digitally by terrestrial signals – rather than by satellite – for which you have to pay.
But the two blocks of bandwidth allocated for ‘Additional Urban TV’ (read Freeview) are also marked for use by rural broadband.
There’s a powerful Fed Farmers lobby going on for rural areas to get as good a deal from Joyce’s broadband roll-out as the urban areas. Wireless broadband has to be a major component.
At present, Freeview is available by terrestrial signal in 75 percent of the country. Major provincial cities missing out include Invercargill, Rotorua, Nelson, Taupo New Plymouth, Timaru, Gisborne and Whangarei. You’d hope that the ‘digital dividend” will mean these cities and regions will get access to terrestrial-delivered Freeview. This would expand its coverage to 87 percent of New Zealanders.
But there is no certainty this will occur.
In a recent written Parliamentary Question to Jonathan Coleman, I sought an assurance that provincial cities will get Digital Terrestrial Transmission coverage. Coleman’s reply: “A decision on whether to extend digital terrestrial transmission coverage, and where any such extension might reach, has not yet been made.”
TVNZ, for one, in its submission to MED on spectrum allocation, warns that unless rural broadband delivery is removed from the spectrum blocks marked principally for Additional Urban TV, the provinces may be given a Sophie’s Choice; you can either have better broadband (via wireless) – or you can have free-to-air digital television.
Politics may steer it to broadband. Steven Joyce is focused on delivering to voters this term to secure the 2011 election. He could provide rural wireless broadband much earlier than digital terrestrial television transmission to rural cities; the telcos and other broadband providers would be falling over themselves to help meet the pre-election deadline.
That could leave many provincial New Zealanders dependent for their digital future on paying Sky for television services, either for providing Freeview on satellite – or by buying a Sky package. This puts Sky TV ringside in deciding the digital future.
New Zealand’s regional television broadcasters also fear they may be forced off the air when the digital switch-on happens. While major centre regional television stations such as Triangle and CTV could switch from UHF to Freeview, this may not be an option for stations such as TV Rotorua, Mainland (Nelson), Channel 61 (Taupo) or Cue (Invercargill.)
Community leaders in provincial New Zealand need to absorb these spectrum issues and join the debate. Local and national free-to-air broadcasters and programme-makers also deserve to be concerned that their current analogue reach may be at some risk. Treasury has already publicly voiced disquiet about the loss of value in TVNZ through no regulations governing broadcasting. What about the impact on the state broadcaster’s value if it is unable to provide the same reach in a digital age as it does under analogue?
This past year has seen John Key act to ensure all New Zealanders can see the Rugby World Cup on free-to-air television in 2011. With his Broadcasting Minister currently unable to given an assurance that such coverage will continue, there should be a whole spectrum of debate in 2010.
Oooh grim
Keep up the fight!
So Sky would have the monopoly in provinces. That sucks. I am pleased that Fed Farmers are lobbying forcefully for proper rural broadband though. Proper broadband is a significant asset to rural businesses – I hope Fed Farmers are successful.
If I had to weigh it up, I’d choose decent broadband and download what I wanted to watch rather than paying Sky. I doubt I’d be downloading any party political broadcasts though.