[Community Television] More Freeview slots up for grabs

[Michelle McGuire]

More Freeview slots up for grabs

   Dominic Timms
Tuesday April 12, 2005

   The company that awarded ITV a new channel on Freeview last week is 
expected to make an additional three new slots available before the end 
of this year.

Sources close to Crown Castle, which is widely expected to award 
Channel 4 a second slot in the next few weeks, say the company plans to 
release two further channels in the summer.

The move would bring the number of channels offered by the company, 
which holds the licence to two of the six multiplexes used to broadcast 
some of the Freeview channels, to four.

"While the effect of the new ITV and Channel 4 services on the existing 
Freeview channels remains to be seen, Crown Castle have indicated they 
can squeeze additional capacity on," said the source.

The additional capacity has been achieved by technology developments 
that have allowed the company to broadcast the additional channels 
using a limited amount of bandwidth.

  Demand for the two new slots is likely to be high, especially from 
those broadcasters who missed out in the auction for the first two 
channels.

Five, Disney and Turner Broadcasting were all reported to have made 
initial bids when the first slot was first advertised in January.

Despite landing the first two slots, with bids estimated at between 
£5m-£7m a year each, ITV and Channel 4 may also be keen to establish a 
greater presence on the Freeview service.

The ITV chief executive, Charles Allen, needs to convince the City that 
the company's long-term strategy involves more than cost-cutting, while 
the C4 boss, Andy Duncan, is also keen to launch more free-to-air 
public service entertainment channels.

Both broadcasters get better ratings in Freeview homes than in 
households who watch via Sky Digital - last week ITV2 got its best ever 
football ratings with more than 2 million tuning in to Uefa Cup action 
between Newcastle and Sporting Lisbon.

The success of the Freeview service, which is now in over 4.5m homes, 
has pushed up channel slot prices.

When the service launched in October 2002, slots were available for 
around £3m.

  When Crown Castle sent out the "request for proposal" for the first 
new slot, it told interested parties it was looking for offers in 
excess of £3m and eventually received bids double that amount.

It said any additional capacity was "a matter of speculation" and 
declined to comment further.

Source: Media Guardian
http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1457229,00.html