{"id":264432,"date":"2026-02-02T21:17:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T21:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/264432\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T21:17:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T21:17:08","slug":"labour-urged-to-save-freeview-as-100000-oppose-bbc-switch-off-plan-threat-to-universal-television","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/264432\/","title":{"rendered":"Labour urged to save Freeview as 100,000 oppose BBC switch-off plan: ‘Threat to universal television!’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A campaign to preserve Freeview terrestrial television has garnered more than 100,000 signatures on Change.org, reflecting widespread public concern about the service’s future.<\/p>\n

The petition, backed by Silver Voices, the Digital Poverty Alliance and Broadcast 2040+, comes as the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport under the Labour Government weighs proposals from the BBC to discontinue digital terrestrial television by 2034.<\/p>\n

Such a move would require every household in Britain to obtain a high-speed broadband subscription to watch BBC programming. Campaign groups contend that eliminating the free-to-air service would widen existing inequalities and hit vulnerable populations hardest.<\/p>\n

Former ITN chairman Christy Swords has characterised the BBC’s plans as “a threat to its universal service”, while the Great Network has recently thrown its weight behind the campaign.<\/p>\n

\"BBC<\/p>\n

Labour is being urged to save Freeview from proposed BBC plans <\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY <\/p>\n

Freeview currently reaches an estimated 98.5 per cent of homes across the country through traditional TV aerials.<\/p>\n

The coalition of campaigners is urging ministers to guarantee universal access to the service and commit to maintaining terrestrial signals until at least the mid-2040s. <\/p>\n

Among those featured in the petition is Lynette, an 80-year-old from Kent, who explained her reliance on the service.<\/p>\n

“Free terrestrial TV is essential for me whether it’s for entertainment, the news or even learning new things from magazine shows,” she said. <\/p>\n

\"Freeview\"\/<\/p>\n

GB News is available via Freeview <\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

FREEVIEW \/ GB NEWS <\/p>\n

“I don’t want to be choosing apps and making new accounts. With my TV in my kitchen, and the normal channels through an aerial, I can leave a channel on that I know I like. I’m worried that the Government will decide to take that away from me and others who either don’t like, can’t afford or can’t use online versions.”<\/p>\n

Dennis Reed, the director of Silver Voices, warned that millions of households with rooftop aerials would be alarmed to discover the Government is contemplating switching off terrestrial signals.<\/p>\n

“This will render aerials useless and force everyone to pay for an expensive broadband contract to continue watching their favourite programmes,” he said. <\/p>\n

“Such a step would weaken the cohesion and shared culture of UK society, which has long relied on a universal free-to-air TV service.”<\/p>\n

\"an<\/p>\n

Do you have Freeview?<\/p>\n

| EE PRESS OFFICE <\/p>\n

Mr Reed added: “Silver Voices urges the Government to step back from any early move towards internet-only television, which would be both politically damaging for Labour, and disastrous for low-income and digitally excluded groups.”<\/p>\n

The Great Network, operator of channels such as Great! TV and Great! Movies, has formally aligned itself with the campaign in recent days.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Anderson, chief executive of the Digital Poverty Alliance, highlighted the scale of the challenge, noting that up to 19 million people in Britain experience some form of digital exclusion.<\/p>\n

“Freeview television provides fact-checked news, entertainment and a sense of belonging and shared experience,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"HowHow much will it cost you to watch TV if Labour extend the licence fee to cover those that only watch streaming content? | GBN<\/p>\n

“This is now under threat, with broadcasters lobbying to place a burden of a monthly broadband bill on households, and no plan to help the most vulnerable.”<\/p>\n

Ms Anderson warned that scrapping broadcast signals risked deepening digital poverty through higher costs and more complicated viewing methods that many lack the skills to navigate.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Broadcast 2040+ emphasised that preserving free-to-air terrestrial television into the 2040s was “essential to prevent digital exclusion, maintain national resilience and ensure everyone can continue to access trusted television services without needing a broadband connection or paid subscription.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A campaign to preserve Freeview terrestrial television has garnered more than 100,000 signatures on Change.org, reflecting widespread public…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[2974,3623,219,156,300,111,139,69,51066,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-264432","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-bbc","9":"tag-celebrity","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-money","13":"tag-new-zealand","14":"tag-newzealand","15":"tag-nz","16":"tag-sgg","17":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}