Families could face extra £200 a year to watch Strictly due to online TV push

Campaigners warn some 4.3 million households could be forced to stump up an additional £218 per year to switch to internet streaming if licences aren’t renewed

Millions of families could face an extra £200 a year to watch their favourite shows like Strictly Come Dancing if the UK ditched terrestrial TV, research warns.

Free-to-air terrestrial broadcast TV is only secure until the early 2030s, when current licences expire. Campaigners warn some 4.3 million households could be forced to stump up an additional £218 per year to switch to internet streaming if the licences aren’t renewed.

The Broadcast 2040+ coalition, whose members include the Digital Poverty Alliance and the Rural Services Network, is urging the Government to commit to a hybrid future for TV and radio services, ensuring continued universal access to terrestrial TV alongside streaming, so that no one is left-behind.

A major report analysing the risks of switching to internet distribution for all broadcast TV has found any future switchover could cost £2.1billion upfront and £1billion annually. Families and taxpayers would need to stump up huge bills for equipment costs, installation of fibre connection, as well as consumer awareness campaigns.

The research, by consultancy firm EY, warns that some 59% of viewers do not want to be forced to have a high-speed broadband internet connection to watch TV, according to a survey carried out for the report. And 31% of viewers told the survey they cannot afford to pay more than they currently do to access broadband and TV services.

Campaigners have raised fears of families being locked out of watching important broadcasts - such as government announcements during the Covid pandemic - if they cannot afford to switch to internet-based TV. Around 7% of UK households, often disadvantaged families or the elderly, do not have internet access at home.

Nearly all households - some 80% - watch traditional TV channels, either in combination with an internet service, or as the sole way to receive TV, according to media regulator Ofcom’s 2024 report on the future of TV distribution. The Broadcast 2040+ coalition wants consumers to continue to have the freedom to choose how they combine their broadband with a range of options for TV, including pay TV, streaming services and free-to-air broadcast TV via the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) network.

Labour MP Sarah Champion, who is chair of the Commons’ International Development Committee, said: “Terrestrial TV is a vital national treasure that provides millions of households with daily and universal access to information, education and entertainment. This report demonstrates that an online-only TV future would further exclude vulnerable communities. I will be urging our new Government to act now to ensure broadcast TV is protected for the millions who depend on it.”

Elizabeth Anderson, chief executive of the Digital Poverty Alliance and a member of the Broadcast 2040+ coalition, said: “For the millions of people who live in or at risk of digital poverty, terrestrial TV provides a vital social lifeline. It guarantees universal access to quality TV content, free to air, to every home.

"A fixed highspeed broadband connection is something that many people cannot afford and even the most basic internet connection is one of the first things cancelled when people need to tighten their belts. Forcing people to take on new costs to watch TV risks excluding them from access to TV altogether.”

A DCMS spokesman said: “We are committed to ensuring that as many people as possible can continue to access TV and radio in a way that suits them. That is why this government has wasted no time in grasping the review of the future of TV distribution in the UK.

"No decisions have yet been taken, we will carefully analyse how people receive their television now and through the next decade, allowing us to assess these changing trends and consider the important financial sustainability of the ecosystem, particularly for our public service broadcasters. This review will inform our long-term approach, including whether to further extend the current commitment to keep Freeview on air until at least 2034. We will release further details in due course.”