Calls for TV service guarantee

DUMFRIESSHIRE MP David Mundell is calling on the UK Government to protect traditional, terrestrial TV channels after Government Ministers said the service could be switched off within the next decade. Terrestrial TV currently gives access to broadcast TV channels from the likes of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and, importantly locally, ITV Border. However, it is currently under threat of being switched off within a decade because the licences that support terrestrial TV expire in 2034. Mr Mundell led a debate in Parliament on the subject last week, during which he called for the Government to provide a long-term commitment to the continuation of terrestrial TV. He said: “Everyone should continue to be able to tune in to terrestrial TV and access the free-to-air service they currently get. “While there has clearly been a huge uptake of streaming via the internet, terrestrial TV nonetheless remains a vital service which is particularly important when millions of households do not have access to the high-speed broadband needed to switch over completely to streaming content. “The fact is that any move to switch it off would hit the most vulnerable people the hardest, including those struggling with the cost of living, many older people, people living with disabilities and those in remote and rural communities. They all rely on terrestrial TV to stay connected and, in many cases, do not have the choice of simply switching to streaming. “We need clarity from the Government on this matter and the possibility of losing terrestrial TV in the next decade should be taken off the table. Instead, viewers here in Dumfriesshire need the guarantee of universal access to Great British broadcasting through the best-of-both-worlds model that we have today, retaining it well into the future.”