The short future of public broadcasting: Replacing digital terrestrial television with internet protocol?

Abstract

According to recent European estimates, the life expectancy of broadcasting as a free-to-air television platform is not more than 15 years. BBC, Yle and the UK regulator Ofcom have reached this conclusion in their reports about the future of news, media distribution and digital terrestrial television (DTT). Although broadcasting is seen necessary until 2030, all three assume that DTT can -under certain conditions -be replaced with delivery using internet protocol (IP). However, it seems that the idea of IPTV taking over DTT is just a sophisticated version of "black box fallacy", driven by the expected growth of the new media ecosystem. The problems in replacing a socio-technological system have largely been neglected.

Broadcasting sport: Analogue markets and digital rights

“…Others, mainly cable brands due to the consistency of its business model based on subscription revenues, simply license the content to existing streaming services for a series of events, matches, or seasons. Yet, as Ala-Fossi and Lax (2016) caution, despite the trend towards a new media ecosystem, the presumption that Internet protocol TV will simply replace digital terrestrial TV might fall into the trap of ‘black-box fallacy’, where all content will seamlessly integrate. Little evidence (Hutchins, 2016) presently foreshadows the arrival of a continuous digital ‘sublime’, or what McLachlan (2011) called a ‘utopian fallacy’.…”

Eroding the assets of citizenship? From broadcast to broadband

“…By 2013 most EU member states had completed the switchover to DTT. But the implementation that would see mobile broadband services enjoying the digital dividend of the 800 MHz band has been slower than the EU expected (for details see Ala-Fossi and Lax (2016) in this issue).…”