BBC TRUST FREESAT CONCLUSION.

AS DESCRIBED BY THE BBC TRUST IN APRIL 2007.

Conclusions

Public Value
Questions 1 – 4 broadly covered the public value aspect of the proposal, examining issues
such as access, choice and future-proofing.
Question 1 asked whether or not respondents believe current access to the BBC’s digital
services is adequate and whether the BBC should be seeking to improve this. The majority
of respondents considered current access to be unacceptable, and also considered that the
BBC should be taking action to improve this in the lead up to digital switchover.
Question 2 looked at the principle of choice,asking whether Licence Fee payers should have
a choice of subscription-free means of access to digital services, with the majority of
respondents firmly in favour of a choice.
Question 3 tested whether the current “Freesat” proposals offer value to all Licence Fee
payers, or just those currently without access to Freeview. The majority of respondents
considered that the “Freesat” proposal will bevaluable and attractive to all Licence Fee
payers, not just those currently without access to Freeview, though they did consider it
particularly valuable to this subset of Licence Fee payers.
Finally, Question 4 looked at the issue of whether the “Freesat” proposition should be
future-proof, for instance by including HD capability. Respondents demonstrated strong
support for incorporating future-proof capabilities.
The results of Questions 1 – 3 strongly support the idea that the “Freesat” proposal will
deliver significant public value by giving viewers a choice of means of access to the BBC’s
digital services. A further benefit identified by respondents was the stability offered by
“Freesat” as a free-to-air offering, in perpetuity, from a public service broadcaster.
Although the proposal will deliver public value without future-proof capacity, it is clear that
the level of public value delivered would be enhanced by offering features such as HD, which
have strong support among respondents.
The BBC’s Public service remit
Question 5 looks at the public service remit of the BBC, specifically focusing on the BBC’sPublic Purpose to help deliver emerging technologies and take a lead in digital switchover.
An overwhelming majority of respondents consider “Freesat” to be consistent with this
public purpose, citing improved access and technological advancement in their reasons.
Competitive impact
The Trust has a duty to have regard to the competitive impact of the BBC’s activities on thewider market, so Questions 6 – 9look at this in some detail.
Responses to Question 6 demonstrate that most people consider that the proposal has
identified those markets that may be affected by “Freesat”.