About the Future TV Taskforce
The Future TV Taskforce brings together the UK’s public service broadcasters – the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, 5, STV and S4C – alongside Everyone TV, the organisation behind Freely, Freeview and Freesat. The Taskforce helps to shape the national conversation about how television is distributed in the UK, and how the way people want to watch TV will evolve in the years ahead.
Television is changing as audiences are increasingly choosing to watch programming via the internet, and becoming progressively less reliant on TV delivered via an aerial. With current broadcast licences due to expire in 2034, the Government is reviewing how free-to-air television will be provided in the future. No decisions have yet been taken, but this review creates a natural point to reflect on how audiences watch TV today and how best to secure universal access for the long term.
The Future TV Taskforce works to ensure that decisions about the future of TV distribution are made carefully, collaboratively and with viewers firmly at the centre.
Our position
The Taskforce supports a carefully planned, managed transition from digital terrestrial television (DTT) to internet delivered TV and a potential switch off in the mid-2030s, as part of a broader, UK-wide digital inclusion and transition plan. Done well, this approach can protect universal access to public service broadcasting; support innovation and investment across the TV sector; and deliver long-term benefits for viewers and the UK economy.
Above all, the Future TV Taskforce believes that the future of television should be inclusive, resilient, and designed around the needs of all audiences to ensure that everyone can continue to access trusted UK content as technology and viewing habits evolve.
Quotes
“As viewers increasingly move online, they [PSBs] have to broadcast over Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) while also investing in distribution across multiple platforms. In this context, delivering content over DTT is quickly moving from being one of the PSBs’ most valuable benefits to a significant cost. These resources could otherwise be used to both create PSM content and experiment with strategies for engaging all audiences in a rapidly evolving sector.” … “If no action is taken [to address this and the other challenges facing PSBs], the very existence of the PSBs – who are the main providers of PSM – will be threatened. Time is running out to save this pillar of UK culture and way of life.”
- Ofcom, Transmission Critical, 2025
“We need a managed transition to our TV future. Government and industry should prepare now for a switchover to internet-delivered television, which requires a clear commitment from ministers to set a date very soon for switchover in the 2030s. The opportunities for audiences are huge, and there are vast broader benefits to be unlocked from a fully connected Britain. But we must ensure we support those who need it, so we don’t leave people behind.”
- Joint PSB CEO letter, RTS Cambridge, 2025
“A full move to internet-delivered TV in the 2030s is achievable – and it can help close the digital divide rather than deepen it. With most people already streaming, an investment from the Government in skills and affordable connectivity for the relatively small number of households who still need help to get online will have benefits far beyond TV, while saving hundreds of millions on maintaining legacy systems.”
- Nick Herm, Group COO at Sky, 2026
What do you need to know?
Today
90% of homes would be able to continue watching TV if aerials were turned off today...
...and 97% of all TV homes wouldn’t have to pay anything extra for broadband.
99% of viewers aged 70+ who are using internet-delivered TV value the new features.
In the mid-2030s
Only 330k homes would need support in a planned switch-off. The last TV switch-off left no one behind.
£21bn - £31bn would be added to the economy each year if we get everyone in the UK online – which TV can help drive.
>£1bn extra the PSBs would have to spend on extending an aerial service, with fewer channels, to 2045 – at the expense of programme budgets.
Sources: ETV analysis of Barb data, Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates, PwC
Jonathan Thompson: We must work together to embrace the digital-only future
Ignore the naysayers – with proper collaboration, no one will be left behind, the Freely boss says.
Full article
Letters: Understanding the bigger picture on Freeview and internet TV
Jonathan Thompson, Helen Milner and Mathew Horsman on proposals to switch off digital terrestrial television
Full article
The Socioeconomic Impact of Digital Transition
PwC’s socioeconomic impact assessment of achieving digital inclusion in the UK, in the context of the ongoing policy debate on the future of TV distribution. Commissioned by the BBC and Everyone TV.
Read the report
DCMS: Future of TV Distribution
An independently researched report that examines how trends in the distribution and consumption of television are likely to develop in the UK up to 2040 without further policy intervention.
Read the report
Ofcom: Future of TV Distribution
Ofcom’s early review of market changes that may affect the way content reaches audiences on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT).
Read the report
Stream On: The Future of UK TV
O&O’s independent, audience-led study exploring the future of TV in an increasingly internet-based world. Commissioned by Sky.
Read the report
Why doing nothing is the biggest gamble for free TV
The debate on how to protect free TV is ongoing but failing to act risks damaging British telly, writes chair of the Future TV Taskforce Jonathan Thompson.
Full article
The Role of Freely in Unconnected Homes
Craft’s independent study into Freely usability amongst viewers living in homes without broadband. Commissioned by Everyone TV.
Read the report
Digital Connectivity in Scotland – Taskforce evidence
Evidence submitted by the Future TV Taskforce to the Scottish Affairs Committee’s Inquiry.
See the evidence