Arqiva

Cumbria charities are backing a campaign to protect TV and radio services in the area from the threat of closure.

Many people are not aware that, on current plans, TV received through an aerial (Freeview) and broadcast radio are not guaranteed long term. Local organisations including Cumbria Community Foundation and Age UK West Cumbria, have backed a campaign to protect these services which are currently delivered through Caldbeck mast.

Broadcast 2040+ is a new campaign, which aims to protect vital TV and radio services for everyone – including the elderly and vulnerable people that rely on them the most – until 2040 and beyond.

Next year, an international conference will decide whether to safeguard the radiofrequency spectrum used to deliver these services. The campaign calls on the UK Government to ensure that the international decision does not negatively impact the services relied on by the people of Cumbria.

New polling, conducted on behalf of the campaign, shows 74% of people in one Cumbria constituency, Workington, support the continued provision of free TV and radio services and want Mark Jenkinson MP, to back it too.

Freeview TV is especially important for older and vulnerable people, many of whom don’t understand or can’t afford services like Sky, Virgin or Netflix.

Broadcast 2040+ is a coalition of organisations across the UK, including Age UK, Silver Voices, the Rural Services Network and broadcast infrastructure company, Arqiva.

Local organisations, Cumbria Community Foundation and Age UK West Cumbria, have spoken out about the importance of Freeview TV to people in the area.

Jane Mindar, CEO of Age UK West Cumbria, said, “Age UK West Cumbria welcomes this campaign as many of the older people we support live in rural areas and may be isolated due to poor transport links, this has been compounded by the effects of covid on health and mobility as well as the cost-of-living crisis.

“Older people need to stay connected and often rely on TV in order to stay in touch with the world outside. When people are lonely or isolated TV is an essential companion and in less affluent areas free TV services are vital. We need to campaign to keep them as people simply cannot afford to pay for services as the cost-of-living crisis deepens.”

Andy Beeforth OBE, chief executive of Cumbria Community Foundation, said, “Protecting people’s access to free to view and listen services is vital in a county like Cumbria where we have large numbers of vulnerable people who live alone. Many of our older residents rely on local radio and TV to stay connected.”

Shuja Khan, CEO of Arqiva and member of the Broadcast 2040+ coalition, said:

“Broadcast TV and radio are part of the daily routine of tens of millions of people across the UK – nine out of ten adults listen to radio at least once a week and nearly half the households in the UK access television through an aerial.

“These services bind us together as a people, whether it is through national moments that matter like the Queen’s State Funeral and Jubilee or celebrating national success like the Women’s Euro Final.

“Now is a critical moment to guarantee them for the long-term. The Government is only committed to these services until the early 2030s. On questions of critical national infrastructure, that is closer than it seems.”

Other backers of the campaign nationally include Children’s Media Foundation, British Broadcasting Challenge and Voice of the Listener and Viewer.

Polling by Strand Partners and broadcast infrastructure company Arqiva, of more than 400 local people, found that:

74% support the continued provision of free TV and radio services

84% listen to radio through a radio set every month and 64% consider its continued provision essential or important

81% watch TV via Freeview every month, and 62% consider its continued provision essential or important.

ENDS

Contact: Alex Dryden, 01325 363436, alex.dryden@recognitionpr.co.uk