ITV Digital Mark 2?
This is money.co.uk is reporting that industry insiders believe that Charles Allen could be looking to revive ITV Digital by purchasing Top Up TV. Now, combine this info with the purchase of SDN earlier this week, and it would seem a strategy is most definitely emerging.
At first, I thought the purchase of SDN was a back-up system, a way of getting what it wanted from OFCOM, or it could threaten to move to a multiplex that it entirely owns, thereby wiping out all of its public service commitments, and making it no different from something Sky 1 or Living TV. In fact, it would seem that ITV's strategy is much more immediate than that.
A purchase of Top Up TV, together with SDN's multiplex space would mean that ITV wants to re-establish itself as a major player in the broadcast arena again. By owning a multiplex, and the package, they are in essence trying to relaunch themselves as the multi-channel player they once were.
But, times have changed. Freeview have gotten themselves in twice as many homes as ITV Digital did, in half the time. Top Up TV have an estimated 150,000 subscribers, but no official figures to back that estimate up. Also, the clock is ticking until analogue switch off begins. The last thing that is needed there is for progress towards that to be sidetracked. All in all, the future of DTT is looking just a little too fluid for my liking.
