UK broadcasters back IPTV transition plan targeting 2034 switchover

The Green Paper formally puts a 2034 end date for digital terrestrial television on the table, backed by all six UK public service broadcasters. For the PSBs, ending duplicate DTT and IP distribution would reduce costs and redirect resources toward content — the paper explicitly acknowledges they have been displaced by global streaming and social media platforms. The 10-week public consultation, open through 31 August 2026, will determine whether the 2034 or 2044 timeline prevails, with direct implications for Freely's adoption trajectory and connected TV platform prominence negotiations.

The Media Green Paper, titled "Watch this Space: A new strategic direction for UK media," was published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 23 June 2026, launching a 10-week public consultation running through 31 August 2026 (per gov.uk, June 2026). The paper proposes two options for DTT switchover — 2034 or 2044 — and the government has stated it "sees a strong case" for the earlier date, contingent on broadband readiness. Project Gigabit, the government's £5 billion infrastructure program, targets near-universal gigabit broadband by 2032, with 99.6% of premises projected to have access to superfast (30Mbps+) broadband by 2034 (per gov.uk stakeholder forum papers, June 2026).

The Green Paper arrives alongside a parallel regulatory buildout. Ofcom published its draft code of practice for connected TV prominence in January 2026, following the Television Selection Services (Designation) Regulations 2026, which designated 15 platforms — including Amazon, Apple, Freely, Google, LG, Roku, Samsung, and Sky — as regulated television selection services under the Media Act 2024 (per legislation.gov.uk, 2026; per Ofcom, January 2026). These rules require platforms to give appropriate prominence to designated PSB on-demand apps such as iPlayer and ITVX, addressing the discoverability gap the Green Paper identifies.

Freely, the IPTV platform developed by Everyone TV and backed by all four UK PSBs, has shown rapid early traction. It surpassed 1 million weekly users over Christmas 2025, doubling from 500,000 in September 2025, making it the fastest-growing TV platform in the UK that year (per Everyone TV press release, January 2026). Independent analyst 3 Reasons projects Freely will reach 10.5 million UK households by 2034, while Freeview-only homes decline to approximately 860,000 (per ISPreview, June 2026). The Taskforce notes that 2.6 million households currently rely on DTT today, with that figure expected to fall to under 1 million by 2034, leaving roughly 220,000 unconnected homes requiring transition support (per Prolific North, June 2026).