200,000 people have yet to switch to a digital television service, with yesterday marking exactly one month before the Saorview digital switchover takes effect.
Despite one in four people believing the digital switchover won’t happen on October 24 as planned, the digital switchover team is adamant the switch from analogue to digital will happen next month, and is urging those 200,000 to switch sooner rather than later.
“There are no advantages to waiting. This is the last month that the analogue service will be available, after that anyone who hasn’t made the switch will be looking at a blank screen,” said director of digital switchover Mary Curtis.
Research conducted by Nielsen TAM shows 305,000 households have now switched, which is a 60 per cent increase on the number since last May. Earlier this month, a survey from TV Trade showed one in four people believed the digital switchover would not happen, resulting in many people refusing to switch over themselves.
Curtis said the various awareness campaigns are getting through to people, with 70 per cent of those surveyed understanding they need to switch to Saorview, and 78 per cent understanding the consequences of not switching.
“It is certainly gratifying to see that there is a steady increase in uptake of the Saorview service, but to anyone who hasn’t already made the switch we would encourage them to act sooner rather than later,” said Curtis.
Ireland will make the switch at the same time as Northern Ireland, which will also see Northern Ireland gain access to RTÉ One, RTÉ Two and TG4 free of charge.
