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Getting a Clearer View

TV Tonight meets with Freeview CEO Robin Parkes to find out how a brand can re-build after a bungled start. And what did she think of the YouTube parody anyway?

fstIt’s been labelled everything from over-hyped to an outright scam. There was no clear start-up date, viewers felt misled about 15 “new” digital channels, regional viewers screamed about being ignored, ad-skipping technology was shunned and they came down hard on that YouTube parody that summed up what we were all feeling anyway.

Could Freeview have had a worse start in this country if it tried?

Now as media, several manufacturers and indeed many viewers, are already offside -how can Freeview ever refresh its brand?

TV Tonight spoke to the woman who is frequently quoted on all things Freeview, CEO Robin Parkes, to ask whether it feels like it’s getting a fair go.

Parkes acknowledges confusion in the marketplace, pointing out that the first campaign was aimed at the masses. The objective of Freeview, she says, is to transition the wider audience from analogue to digital television. That effectively means early adopters and tech-savvy viewers are likely to remain frustrated in the immediate future.

“We’re talking about analogue people who are looking at their TV Week guide for programming because they’ve never seen an electronic programme guide. They’ve got TVs that are very old. They’re the ones who we really need to get,” she said.

“‘Digital people’ have always been there. They’ve been there for 6 or 7 years and I understand they’re very disillusioned, because if you adopted early you haven’t really seen much. And you’re probably not really seeing much for the next couple of years. But if you’re still on analogue and you make the switch then you think ‘oh there is more for me there for free.'”

One of the biggest critcisms of Freeview has been confusion over the start-up dates of the promised extra channels. So far only ONE has been added -and only to viewers in TEN’s metropolitan markets.

“Where networks stood on the 24th of November when they announced to the world ‘Freeview is coming, stay tuned’ was a very different picture by the time they came back to work post Christmas. Global financial crisis was not hitting in November and everyone had much bigger plans. Seven were saying ‘we’ll be on air by the 31st of March.’ But everything changed.”

Parkes says Seven and Nine are not deliberately holding back. Even though they knew it would be five years before they saw a return on their investment they are constrained by expense in a changing economic landscape.

“When they went to air in November promising everything was coming, in their minds it was all going to be around the same time as ONE was.”

Now as the marketplace views Freeview with confusion and scepticism, media articles are far more negative than positive. One article even scared its readers with false information that their TV sets would no longer keep working. As CEO of a potentially tainted brand, Parkes says the success of Freeview will be decided by its target audience: the masses.

“The success of Freeview won’t be decided by the technologists and bloggers and journalists. It will be decided by the people at home,” she said.

Specifically, that is the audience who is convinced to switch from 5 analogue channels to (ultimately) 15 digital channels. And presumably to do so without straying over to a world of pay television instead.

“They’re the ones that will decide the success or otherwise. At the moment those people are confused. They say, ‘there’s lots of channels, but where is it, I don’t get it?’ But our biggest threat is apathy -people that say ‘I’m quite happy with 5 channels, my picture’s good enough.'”

As for negative articles by technology journalists, Parkes is candid.

“That’s not going to make or break us. The consumers aren’t always going to be reading the technology press. The TV press –they’re the ones that we need. They’re the ones reaching the consumers.”

Pressed on the refusal to embrace ad-skipping technology on Freeview branded equipment, Parkes says there has been no hiding the fact it is supported by Free to Air networks.

“It’s funded by ads. Someone has to pay. Either you pay for Foxtel or you pay by ads. It’s just a commercial reality.”

Last week Freeview also welcomed community television to the future EPG. She was upbeat that it would help community TV’s case before the government to switch to digital. It is in Freeview’s interests to offer as much content as it can for free. Community TV fits right into that brief.

Parkes says angry regional viewers who have applied pressure to politicians to bring ONE to their TVs, have forced regional broadcasters, including Prime and WIN, to advance their infrastructure upgrades. Once a mid year target is met for ONE, extra channels will be able to follow suit via the same technology.

A second stage advertising campaign and an updated website will begin on April 26th.

The first advertisement became the target of a now-infamous YouTube parody, which was shut down by Freeview, further creating disharmony in the marketplace. What happened to having a good ol’ Aussie sense of humour?

“In hindsight we would have dealt with it differently”, acknowledges Parkes. “The lawyers tried to do the right thing, protecting the trademark, a little bit over-zealous maybe. In hindsight we would have been less precious, I guess. As soon as we saw it went back up and the passion behind it we said ‘just leave it.’

“I think we should ask for royalties from their show because they got a lot of publicity!” she laughs.

34 Responses

  1. Andrew and David – let’s not split hairs here. Digital FTA Television = Freeview. And you do not pay to subscribe to SBS and ABC. Don’t get cheeky and start debating that “my taxes pay for these two channels” either because you know that is not a relevant point……

    Your options are not between free digital TV and Freeview because they are one and the same. Freeview is the FTA branding for their digital platform. I am not confused with what is going on – but clearly you both need some education. While I am not necessarily happy with the content that is provided on the FTA platform, I do not sit here and whinge about why this is a marketing ploy sent out to confuse the masses and there is an ulterior motive to deceive and rip off the public.

    I know that eventually I will have to go digital or lose my FTA TV signal. My only other option is to pay for Foxtel. Free or pay – your choice.

    1. Thanks for pointing out I need some education. The article clearly indicates Freeview’s views on “pay vs FTA” (unlike some that have suggested TV sets will stop working entirely), and Robin Parkes even thanked me for a fair and balanced article.

      Freeview is unapologetically a marketing push by FTA broadcasters in the switch off from analogue and the battle against pay. In fact there is an option between FTA digital and Freeview: a non Freeview branded HD TV or set top box. Indeed in some rural areas they will have to by pass FV without any choice. It’s a switch to digital, not a switch to Freeview, we face.

  2. Pablo, what a wonderful piece of advice – telling your friends to skip Freeview. What are they going to do when the analogue signal is eventually shut off? Hmm? Are you to advise them to just going to stop watching TV? I think what you and most of the other whingers out there don’t realise is that you have to switch to digital if you want to continue to receive a Free TV signal. Sure, the new channels and content aren’t living up to the promises thus far – so what? It’s Free!!! If you don’t like it, pay for Foxtel and order what you like! We know this is a marketing campaign. The FTA stations are trying to make this transition to digital from analogue more digestable to the populace. If you don’t like it, don’t watch! You get what you pay for……… oh, that’s right – you paid nothing.

  3. Man how moronic is this CEO, interviewed here and disses Tech and Blog sites. No add skipping? Guess what Im telling all my friends and family who ask, skip freeview, shame really

  4. everyone is bagging out the CEO but lets here the business case to make money on FTA from 2 extra channels. That explains to HD loop. FTA cannot (and doesn’t want) extra channels that scavange their own market. Ten added a sport only channel in HD to make it a different as possible from regular Ten for this reason. Having a movie, comedy, classics channel etc is hardly a change from whats offered now, so you’ll just move from 9 to GO99 or 7 to 7Lifestyle. Both networks have the same viewer numbers but more costs and more (but not as much) revenue. As dopey or airheaded as everyone wants to make out he CEO, there is reality.

    WIN / SC/ 9 don’t know how to make them pay for themselves. That’s why the government opened up the extra channels to all competitiors to allow those who can (and care enough to do a good job) the opportunity to do so. Life with extra channels from 9/WIN or 7/Prime is hardly a problem, they’ll have to learn to live with Ten, ABC and SBS outrunning and rating them in the future if they don’t move now. As for a movie or lifestyle channel, I’ll rent a DVD or buy a boxset at least I’ll know and get what I pay for when I want to not when it suits a programmer in Sydney

  5. Ms. Parkes might eventually realise that regardless of viewer’s differing levels of technical knowledge, almost everyone recognises hollow spin for what it is.

    …..And no matter how long and lavishly you polish a turd, its still a turd.

    .

  6. Ms Parkes might eventually realise that regardless of viewer’s differing levels of technical knowledge, almost everyone recognises hollow spin for what it is.

    ….And no matter how long and lavishly you polish a turd, its still a turd.

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