In January 2008, online radio show FrequencyCast ran a poll among its listeners and site visitors to see how well the Government’s Digital Switchover message is getting through.
Within three weeks, over 600 responses had been received. Over 60% stated that their homes are ready for the 2012 switch-off, but 39% are not yet ready.
Some 9% of respondents responded with the statement What is the Digital Switchover?.
FrequencyCast is an Internet-based radio show that covers UK Digital TV.
Listeners are encouraged to ask the show’s presenters for help with digital TV problems, and the production team has seen a dramatic increase in questions relating to the Switchover, following the media coverage of Whitehaven’s analogue television switch-off in 2007.
Show’s co-presenter Pete Carlson says: Nearly 40% of those surveyed aren’t ready yet, and almost one in 10 appear not to be aware of the switchover at all. The questions we’re getting from our listeners and site visitors indicate a level of worry and confusion about the Switchover message, with people wrongly assuming that they’ll need to throw away their existing TV, be forced to buy an expensive high-definition TV that they don’t need, or tie themselves into a subscription service. With parts of the UK set to switch by the end of the year, it seems that the message isn’t clear.
In response, the FrequencyCast team has released an audio guide to the Digital TV Switchover, to help, educate and inform. The Unofficial Guide to the Digital Switchover covers the following topics:
• The key facts about the digital switchover
• The top ten need to know facts
• Answers to common questions asked by listeners and site visitors
The podcast lasts for 20 minutes, and can be downloaded as an MP3 audio file for use on iPods™ and MP3 players, or played over the Internet from a web browser.
The Unofficial Guide is available from
Contact: