THE FREEVIEW OPPORTUNITY
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Published: Monday, January 21, 2008
Have you benefited from the flat-panel revolution or generated additional TV sales from High Definition? Then brace yourself for a TV revolution that will make those selling features look as mundane as a moulded-on mains plug. This year the Freeview revolution arrives in earnest and analogue switch-off begins. Never in the history of UK broadcast television has there been a better opportunity to capitalise on the TV market.
The TV sector is no stranger to new technology trends of course, but while features like colour, teletext, widescreen, flat-panel and HD have been ‘nice to have’ features that have slowly become standard, Freeview is altogether different. Thanks to uncontested government legislation it isn’t an optional extra - it is absolutely essential if you want to receive broadcast TV from now on. Better still, the government is driving customers into stores to buy new TVs and decoder boxes with high-profile media campaigns on the TV, Internet, newspapers and billboards.
The maths look even more appealing. There are around 26-million homes in the UK and only 14-million of them currently have a digital TV. While a potential 12-million customers will need a new Freeview enabled TV or decoder for their main TV very soon, that is only the top line figure. On average, UK households have three working televisions, meaning the actual market including replacing models in the dining rooms, bedrooms, kitchens or kids rooms is nearer 60-million units. Add in the growing portable, in-car and caravan markets and you are looking at 70-million TVs that will have to be replaced over the next four-years.
future viewing
While Freeview and switch-off has been talked about for a long time – it is now happening for real. Copeland, including the town of Whitehaven, was the first area to switch to digital TV on the 14th of November last year. It was a notably quiet revolution – largely because the powers that govern switchover had made damn sure that everyone in this sparsely populated area had a Freeview TV or set-top box before the plug was pulled on analogue broadcasting. Analogue will certainly not be ‘let go’ so quietly in major conurbations. If anyone manages to miss the £200-million advertising campaign for switchover, they certainly won’t miss the media furore I expect when the first big town goes all-digital and a healthy percentage of the population find they have no TV.
And the roadmap is already set into stone. From 2008 to 2012, the UK’s analogue terrestrial broadcast TV network will be shut down in stages. Border regions will go 100 per cent digital through 2008 with various areas switching over until London is finally converted in 2012 – just in time for the Olympics. For those in marginal Freeview reception areas, switchover will also mean a significant boost in transmitter power. The stronger signal will mean reception may be possible from indoor or portable antennas, whereas in the past the customer may have required a rooftop aerial in these areas.
While you cannot argue that Freeview is a better service with great quality and the choice of up to 40 channels today, the Government, the BBC and Digital UK are doing their utmost to promote the concept. It is imperative that they have convinced 100 per cent of the population to make the change to Freeview in the next four years – and the consumer PR & Media campaign will be huge. These are not adverts for any brand but effectively are an announcement to encourage consumers to come into your store and buy a new TV. Fabulous!
The current crop of TV ads feature an iconic “giant red sofa” and open with a scene of people appearing from over the brow of a hill. The mass of people head towards it and settle down, at which point a young boy raises the remote and everyone becomes bathed in the golden glow of Freeview. The final aerial shot represents the huge number of people already watching Freeview, and invites everyone to watch the 40 free digital channels available for a one-off payment and no subscription – complete with voice-over by Sanjeev Bhaskar from The Kumars at No. 42.
integration
Of course, Freeview as a concept is not new and is generally well understood by the consumer at large. As such, understandably a lot of the main living room TV market has already gone over to Freeview via a set-top box or flat-panel TVs with integrated Freeview decoders. But as our maths earlier proved, this is missing a major chunk of the market. TVs in dining rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, home-offices and kids rooms make up two-thirds of the TV market and very few have so far switched to Freeview. In fact, because Freeview is a UK-specific service, very few of the international Tier-1 manufacturers even offer small-screen TVs with integrated Freeview!
This gap in the market – portable and small-screen Freeview TVs in the face of imminent analogue switch-off– is the very premise on which August International was created two years ago. In that time the brand has gone from strength to strength, and now boasts no less than six models from 7-inch to 11-inch, with the top models offering built-in DVD-players.
The small-screen Freeview market is wide open to independent retailers and the sector offers substantial user-benefits and USPs by keeping the screen and Freeview decoder in one compact flat-panel TV package. There are no add-on boxes, no trailing wires, much simplified use, a single remote control and a lower overall power consumption. In addition, desk-stands and wall-mounts are usually included as standard, and most models have a built-in antenna as well as an external aerial connection.
These products are ideal for customers wanting a simple, out-of-the-box Freeview TV solution for smaller areas throughout the home, and many models have additional AV inputs for games consoles – ideal for the kid’s room. In many cases these new small-screen TVs are replacing a bulky CRT design, which has appeal in itself, and many of our retailers are seeing a substantial number of impulse, add-on and gift purchases.
Analogue switch-off / digital switch-over is great news for retailers and it is not just the price-compressed big-screen TV market that will benefit. Small-screen TVs, digital video-recorders and PC-TV hardware components are all set to undergo a digital-makeover as the plug is pulled on analogue TV. Add to this the high-profile media promoting switchover nationwide, and the TV market looks very healthy indeed for the next four years.
For further information contact: +44 (0)870 850 3525 http://www.augustint.com
The maths look even more appealing. There are around 26-million homes in the UK and only 14-million of them currently have a digital TV. While a potential 12-million customers will need a new Freeview enabled TV or decoder for their main TV very soon, that is only the top line figure. On average, UK households have three working televisions, meaning the actual market including replacing models in the dining rooms, bedrooms, kitchens or kids rooms is nearer 60-million units. Add in the growing portable, in-car and caravan markets and you are looking at 70-million TVs that will have to be replaced over the next four-years.
future viewing
While Freeview and switch-off has been talked about for a long time – it is now happening for real. Copeland, including the town of Whitehaven, was the first area to switch to digital TV on the 14th of November last year. It was a notably quiet revolution – largely because the powers that govern switchover had made damn sure that everyone in this sparsely populated area had a Freeview TV or set-top box before the plug was pulled on analogue broadcasting. Analogue will certainly not be ‘let go’ so quietly in major conurbations. If anyone manages to miss the £200-million advertising campaign for switchover, they certainly won’t miss the media furore I expect when the first big town goes all-digital and a healthy percentage of the population find they have no TV.
And the roadmap is already set into stone. From 2008 to 2012, the UK’s analogue terrestrial broadcast TV network will be shut down in stages. Border regions will go 100 per cent digital through 2008 with various areas switching over until London is finally converted in 2012 – just in time for the Olympics. For those in marginal Freeview reception areas, switchover will also mean a significant boost in transmitter power. The stronger signal will mean reception may be possible from indoor or portable antennas, whereas in the past the customer may have required a rooftop aerial in these areas.
While you cannot argue that Freeview is a better service with great quality and the choice of up to 40 channels today, the Government, the BBC and Digital UK are doing their utmost to promote the concept. It is imperative that they have convinced 100 per cent of the population to make the change to Freeview in the next four years – and the consumer PR & Media campaign will be huge. These are not adverts for any brand but effectively are an announcement to encourage consumers to come into your store and buy a new TV. Fabulous!
The current crop of TV ads feature an iconic “giant red sofa” and open with a scene of people appearing from over the brow of a hill. The mass of people head towards it and settle down, at which point a young boy raises the remote and everyone becomes bathed in the golden glow of Freeview. The final aerial shot represents the huge number of people already watching Freeview, and invites everyone to watch the 40 free digital channels available for a one-off payment and no subscription – complete with voice-over by Sanjeev Bhaskar from The Kumars at No. 42.
integration
Of course, Freeview as a concept is not new and is generally well understood by the consumer at large. As such, understandably a lot of the main living room TV market has already gone over to Freeview via a set-top box or flat-panel TVs with integrated Freeview decoders. But as our maths earlier proved, this is missing a major chunk of the market. TVs in dining rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, home-offices and kids rooms make up two-thirds of the TV market and very few have so far switched to Freeview. In fact, because Freeview is a UK-specific service, very few of the international Tier-1 manufacturers even offer small-screen TVs with integrated Freeview!
This gap in the market – portable and small-screen Freeview TVs in the face of imminent analogue switch-off– is the very premise on which August International was created two years ago. In that time the brand has gone from strength to strength, and now boasts no less than six models from 7-inch to 11-inch, with the top models offering built-in DVD-players.
The small-screen Freeview market is wide open to independent retailers and the sector offers substantial user-benefits and USPs by keeping the screen and Freeview decoder in one compact flat-panel TV package. There are no add-on boxes, no trailing wires, much simplified use, a single remote control and a lower overall power consumption. In addition, desk-stands and wall-mounts are usually included as standard, and most models have a built-in antenna as well as an external aerial connection.
These products are ideal for customers wanting a simple, out-of-the-box Freeview TV solution for smaller areas throughout the home, and many models have additional AV inputs for games consoles – ideal for the kid’s room. In many cases these new small-screen TVs are replacing a bulky CRT design, which has appeal in itself, and many of our retailers are seeing a substantial number of impulse, add-on and gift purchases.
Analogue switch-off / digital switch-over is great news for retailers and it is not just the price-compressed big-screen TV market that will benefit. Small-screen TVs, digital video-recorders and PC-TV hardware components are all set to undergo a digital-makeover as the plug is pulled on analogue TV. Add to this the high-profile media promoting switchover nationwide, and the TV market looks very healthy indeed for the next four years.
For further information contact: +44 (0)870 850 3525 http://www.augustint.com
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