Ministers have been accused of bending to commercial interests by setting out plans to switch off multi-channel television for the millions who rely on Freeview.
The Government is expected to publish a consultation paper within weeks to ‘set out a path’ towards the end of digital terrestrial television (DTT) after 2034.
It would remove access to more than 70 standard channels, and up to 15 HD channels, including BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
Last night, campaigners said that any move to internet-only services would disproportionately affect the elderly and those on low incomes or in rural areas.
They added arguments for axing Freeview are being pushed by The Connection Project, a body funded by organisations such as the BBC, ITV, Vodafone and BT, which stand to benefit from the end of DTT.
Freeview, which functions through aerials, reaches 13.6 million homes across the UK and is the main television platform for 40 per cent of households with a set.
If a subscription was necessary, the cost of television viewing could increase by £200 in broadband charges for some homes.
The Government says that the switch-off would depend on the universal availability of affordable superfast broadband: its own research acknowledges around one million homes are struggling to afford broadband.
The Government has been accused of bending to commercial interests by setting out plans to switch off multi-channel television for the millions who rely on Freeview
How will losing Freeview impact Britain’s most vulnerable and reshape TV access for all?
Silver Voices, which represents older people, has launched a petition to protect Freeview.
The campaigners argue that The Connection Project’s backers are dominated by telecoms companies selling broadband, banks pushing customers to switch to online banking, and broadcasters seeking to cut the costs of maintaining two ‘distribution platforms’.
ITV is increasingly focusing on its streaming platform ITVX, and in May 2025 former BBC director-general Tim Davie said that the BBC should ‘own a move to an internet future’.
Dennis Reed, from Silver Voices, said: ‘The companies funding The Connection Project all have a commercial interest in moving services online.
‘We should not let the future of free-to-air television be shaped by those who stand to gain from its disappearance. Older viewers deserve better.’
But the Connection Project insisted last night the equivalent of Freeview could still be provided, saying: ‘It is absolutely essential we preserve everyone’s right to free public-service TV but provided via broadband.
‘The TV switchover is an opportunity to ensure that everyone can get more free programming through internet-streamed TV, with subsidised broadband costs where needed.’
The ‘Future TV Taskforce, made up of the UK’s public service broadcasters, said: ‘A transition to delivering TV over the internet in the mid-2030s as part of a UK wide plan to get everyone in the country online has the potential to close the digital divide once and for all.
‘The shift to viewing online is already happening and it’s being led by consumers.
‘This isn’t about forcing anything through but instead, transitioning in a planned, organised way, so there’s a smooth and seamless switchover when the time is right, with conditions around connectivity and affordability met..
The BBC said that as audiences continued to adopt TV and audio distributed over the internet, the Corporation stands by to support the Government as it considered how to manage these transitions ‘in the best interests of all audiences’.
It added that as the Government considered the future of TV, alongside the other public sector broadcasters, it was ready ‘to play our part in ensuring that the right conditions are in place, to make sure that nobody is left behind and that the benefits of digital inclusion are realised.’
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it was ‘committed to ensuring that no-one is left behind as TV viewing increasingly moves to online platforms’.
A spokesman added: ‘The Government is currently working across the TV sector on a long-term sustainable approach to TV distribution in the UK.’
