A number of charities in the North East are backing a campaign to protect TV and radio services from the threat of closure.

TV and radio services that are received through an aerial, such as Freeview, are not currently protected through legislation over the long term.

Broadcast 2040+ is a campaign that hopes to protect vital services which are broadcast via radio frequencies - such as radio and television - on behalf of the elderly and other vulnerable people who are most dependent on them.

New polling that has been conducted on behalf of the campaign has shown that 75% of people across the North East support the continued provision of free TV and radio services.

The World Radio Communication Conference (WRC23) to take place in Dubai next year will discuss how radio frequencies are allocated to different services. Decisions made at last year's conference have already led to a reduction in the spectrum which is allocated to digital terrestrial TV (which is used by Freeview) in favour of mobile phone provision instead.

This comes in the wake of the Bilsdale Transmitter fire in August last year which some believe resulted in the loss of TV and radio services for hundreds of thousands of people in areas south of the river Tees.

The Northern Echo: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited the site of Bilsdale mast in his Richmond constituency in September.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited the site of Bilsdale mast in his Richmond constituency in September. (Image: Recognition PR)

The entire 314m mast was demolished the following October with services being provided to the areas it served by increasing the capacity of the Eston Nab trasmitting station as well as a temporary mast built at Bilsdale.

A replacement mast at Bilsdale has been under construction since September, and is due to be operational by September 2023.

The loss of TV and radio services broadcast on radio frequencies means more services need to be accessed via online platforms, which is of concern to a number of charities.

Helen Hunter, chief executive of Age UK North Yorkshire and Darlington, said: “The Bilsdale mast fires sent our phones ringing off the hook. For older people, TV is their company; suddenly to lose it, had a huge impact. That’s why it’s really important for the government to protect digital terrestrial television.

“I’m delighted to support the Broadcast 2040+ campaign because it protects TV for older people.”

Michelle Cooper, CEO of County Durham Community Foundation, said: “There are a huge number of older and isolated people in our communities living off next to nothing, for whom Freeview TV and radio services bring a lot of company and entertainment. I strongly support the protection of services that are free at the point of use."

Darlington MP Peter Gibson added, “I am concerned about the potential lack of continued services for my constituents in Darlington. In light of recent events, with the fire at the Bilsdale Mast, it became very apparent to me that many residents in Darlington heavily rely on digital terrestrial TV and broadcast media and I was pleased that Arqiva worked hard to restore connectivity quickly.

READ MORE: Arqiva 'must learn lessons' after Bilsdale TV mast fire

"Before these are potentially disconnected we need a much deeper understanding as to who this is going to affect the most and how it will impact vulnerable people in our community.”

Arqiva owns and operates much of the infrastructure that delivers broadcast TV and radio across the UK. Through a network of 1,450 sites, Arqiva delivers these services to 98% of the UK. It was revealed in the wake of the Bilsdale fire that Arqiva spent £40 million trying to restore services to those affected.

Shuja Khan, CEO of Arqiva and member of the Broadcast 2040+ coalition, said: “Broadcast TV and radio are part of the daily routine of tens of millions of people across the UK – nine out of ten adults listen to radio at least once a week and nearly half of households in the UK access television through an aerial. 

“These services bind us together as a people, whether it is through national moments that matter like the Queen’s State Funeral and Jubilee or celebrating national success like the Women’s Euro Final.

“Now is a critical moment to guarantee them for the long-term. The Government is only committed to these services until the early 2030s.  On questions of critical national infrastructure, that is closer than it seems.”

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