24 October 2008
Culture secretary Andy Burnham has been criticised for telling consumers that they can always sign up to satellite television if they are unable to receive all 48 Freeview channels following the digital switchover. His comments come before households in the Scottish Border region and parts of Cumbria see their analogue signals turned off from midnight on November 5th. Research by Ofcom suggests that just over half of viewers in the region will be able to receive the full 48 digital TV channels via Freeview once the switchover process is complete, which has caused anger among consumer groups. Responding to the concerns, Mr Burnham told the Carlisle News & Star: "There are always other options. If I was living in an area where I cannot get the full set of channels then I will have Freesat or Sky or a different option. In the region when Border switches over in a few weeks time, Sky is the default option on the scheme." The Border region will be the first to go digital next month following the trial in Whitehaven, Cumbria last year.