The Freeview marketing campaign rolled on over the weekend, with the second commercial being shown on all the FTA networks at 6:29 last night. But does it clear up all the confusion over extra channels? Hell no!Essentially just a montage of big moments in TV history, the clip ends with the statement: “More moments. More Channels” emblazoned across the screen while the voiceover tells us that there are “five more channels… for free”. There’s no mention of the costs involved in upgrading your hardware to “Freeview” branded equipment so you can enjoy the benefits of not being able to skip ads, nor any mention of the fact that you’ll get to enjoy all the same benefits with any digital equipment, not necessarily Freeview branded gear.
And as for those 5 extra channels – what are they? Are they including ONE HD? Or is it five extra channels compared to analog TV. And if we want to be picky, it’s really only four, because switching to digital means you lose any community TV stations you might watch (at least at the moment).
All told, this is still a confusing shambles for the average consumer, and nothing more than a marketing campaign designed around maintaining a dying revenue model.
[Freeview]