BBC could switch off terrestrial TV ‘by 2030’
The BBC may look to go entirely digital by the end of the decade, according to the corporation’s director general.
In a speech this week, Tim Davie said the 100-year-old broadcaster needs to switch to an internet-only model to stay relevant.
‘A switch off of broadcast will and should happen over time, and we should be active in planning for it,’ Mr Davie said.
The director general explained the BBC should ‘own a move to an internet future’ by 2030.
‘We must work together to ensure that everyone is connected, and can get their TV and radio via the internet,’ he added. ‘This isn’t something to resist.’
The BBC has been broadcasting from TV towers around the country for more than a century.
Despite launching the iPlayer in 2007 and implementing it effectively, the Beeb is facing increasing pressure from the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+.
Currently, iPlayer attracts around 12 million logins per week and accounts for 16 per cent of all the BBC’s programme consumption.
Although switching to an internet-only distribution model may allow the BBC to divert resources towards competing with the likes of TikTok for younger eyeballs, it could leave older viewers out in the cold.
Mr Davie said that, by 2030, perhaps as many as two million households will still be without a broadband connection.
What’s more, the BBC is also facing calls to scrap the licence fee from 2028.
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