Much like the train system in the U.K., digital television is coming in later than the timetable suggested it would do. The E.T.A. touted around for the coming of the digital broadcast was this month; the date now looks more like September/October. And again, much like infamous U.K. railways, the options and platforms to get on track to a digital future look complicated, fractured, and expensive.

Despite a $815-billion spending spree by British companies to launch digital services, a survey in May this year found nearly one-third of the population ignorant about digital, 20% thought it would start in the millennium, 60% thought that if it did come, it would come without the need for decoding devices, and 80% of those polled didn’t realize digital would mean the eventual end of analog transmission (a.k.a. licensed but free television).

Unlike North America, the British television system has relied on terrestrial delivery paid for by television set licence fees for the BBC service, and advertising revenue for the two and now three other independent channels.

The notion of paying extra for a decoding device, a new television system, and also paying a licence fee may result in not quite the revolution the broadcasters are hoping for.

Three delivery methods are on offer – digital terrestrial (bunny ears via a decoding box), digital satellite (a 40-by-60-centimeter dish sticking out like a giant ear above your porch), or digital cable.

The British broadcast media are terribly gung-ho on the idea of digital technology, but any sightings of a decoder box or a digital television in the high streets still remain quite rare.

A quick tour around Dixons, Currys and a Sony shop proved fruitless, with most staff mistaking digital television with DVD players.

Not helping in the quest for digital readiness is the preponderance of various STBs, APIs, EPGs, and CASs. TLAs (three letter acronyms) that only an anorak (nerd) could fall in love with.

The fear that many of the STBs (set-top boxes) and IDTVs (integrated digital television sets) could go the way of the square satellite dish from British Satellite Broadcasting – up for all of a British summer (i.e. two or three months max) – has one national equipment rentals company offering its customers free upgrades on equipment on a near annual basis.

But who’s doing what? Although we in Canada often bemoan the regulations of the CRTC, the licensing system in the U.K. is even more controlled.

Last summer, the Independent Television Commission granted six terrestrial ‘multiplex’ licences – one to a BBC-Flextech joint venture, another to a Channel 3/Channel 4 consortium, three to British Digital Broadcasting, part owned by Granada and Carlton, and one to BBC Wales and Channel 4 Scotland. Each multiplex is capable of broadcasting up to 12 channels.

As I tried to contact each group, only one was able to talk about their hopes for digital television – the BBC – or rather BBC Commercial.

Under a joint venture with the channel distribution company Flextech, the BBC will offer its BBC1 and 2 channels, the Living Channel, BBC 24 hour news, BBC Choice and a learning channel.

Roly Keating, acting head at BBC Commercial, is hopeful for a digital terrestrial launch late this summer and is confident that the Flextech-BBC multiplex will survive on specialty channel subscriptions, despite rumblings from production companies who depend on the Beeb that already digital television has suck too much from the $5-billion budget pool raised annually by television licence fees.

Last year, BBC chairman Sir Christopher Bland confirmed that 8% of BBC’s income had already been diverted to the digital public services.

The other major player in the terrestrial stakes will be BDB, which was also backed by the BBC.

Confidence in the city in BDB is tempered – some analysts consider their shares undervalued, but with start-up costs of over $1 billion, starting year losses estimated at $50 million for the first year, $100 million for the second and $750 million in the year 2000, the enormity of the risk has investors treading carefully.

One reason for the anxiety to move to digital television for U.K. private broadcasters – Granada/Carlton, Channel 3 and Channel 4 – in spite of the start-up costs, is to ensure their slice of the advertising revenue pie, not something the BBC has yet to worry about.

In the tug of war of the broadcasters, the dominant player has to be Rupert Murdoch and BSkyB. Originally part of the BDB triumvirate with Granada and Carlton, BSkyB dropped out of the BDB multiplex bid last summer, to make sure the group stood a better chance against a cable-backed consortium, and the friendly assurance that its channels will air in DTTV.

Recent wranglings between BDB and BSkyB over technology and frequencies of the digital terrestrial waveband now have that partnership in dissolution.

Not that BSkyB should have any problems in the new digital universe since it is the driving force behind digital satellite (DSTV), and helping Murdoch in his plan to rule the U.K. broadcast world is the recent news of a dispute between Britain and Europe over the use of frequencies for DTTV.

The EU governments need to agree on frequencies before countries step on each other’s services.

Meanwhile, back in space, Murdoch is planning to offer a digital satellite gateway to a 250-channel cosmos including the present terrestrial channels, future multiplex offerings, and a slew of pay-per-view channels. And it’s PPV that could turn U.K. television sets to digital.

Unlike Canada, analog satellite television caught on quickly in the U.K. – it now reaches nearly 20% of British households. And one reason for its success – soccer. Last year, BSkyB laid down over $225 million for three-year rights to air live the Football Premier League, and it intends to follow up with separate deals to soccer clubs to establish standalone PPV football channels.

Negotiations with Newcastle United, Manchester United and Liverpool may still be in the warm-up stages, even though recently the Premier division managers voted against the notion of PPV. So broadcast would likely be limited to non-Premiership games only.

Murdoch’s covering the pitch here – not only is he wooing the separate clubs to boost the digital satellite audience but also strengthening his position for the 2001 renegotiation of the Premiership League.

Digital cable will probably not be a major player in the U.K. yet. The infrastructure is currently available to only nine million homes, of which just over 2.5 million have opted for cable. It too promises up to 250 channels plus the present service of local cable telephone.

So it seems that the broadcasters will be ready with product for the new technology, but the question of reception still remains outstanding.

Right now, the ardent digital television fan may have to purchase up to three different set-top boxes to receive DTTV, DSTV and DCTV. This smacks of the same scenario that faced the launch of analog satellite in the U.K. – the consumer had the choice of the round dish for BSkyB or the square dish for the now-defunct BSB.

The winner here, as happened with analog satellite, will probably be Murdoch again, BSkyB already having committed to a $680-million contract with Panasonic, Amstrad, Pace Microelectronics and Hyundai to manufacture digital decoder boxes that should retail at about $500.

Murdoch is also playing footsie with the Internet, partnering with British Telecom, Midland Bank, Sainsburys and Matsushita in the British Interactive Broadcasting company. Its vision: to merge the TV and the computer and bring conventional television channels together with home banking and shopping, e-mail, and ‘interactivity.’ Yet another box on the television!

Both Flextech and BDB realize the potential of interactive services and Bill Gates’ Microsoft Web TV may provide their home banking and shopping services.

For the U.K. television viewer, the digital age seems to promise only more of the same, with probably the only true digital winner being the sports fan who, rather than bear a damp frosty morning and a thermos flask, will opt for their PPV, camera-angle-on-demand football match with a can of Tetleys and a pair of slippers.

Unfortunately, the delay in digital delivery this summer has meant World Cup 98 – the best launching pad to consumers and a good platform to show off the choice digital offers – has already passed the industry by.

For the program producer, digital television may be similarly disappointing. BBC’s Keating indicated that while some independent production may be commissioned, the funding, familiar to the Canadian industry, may only be up to 20% of budgets.

Commissions likely will be for the new BBC Arena channel – arts, drama and music. But don’t get your proposals to them yet, much of the programming on the ‘new’ channels will be old material – for ‘best of’ read ‘golden oldies’ and BBC archive.

On the independent front, one only has to look at the producers guide to Channel 5 to realize that more also means less money for programs. How wonderful are 250 channels really going to be for producers?

One sticking point for BBC Commercial is that if public money is used to produce programming, then the service should be accessible to the general public, which it won’t be if a subscription is charged and new hardware required (on top of which a rise to $240 for the licence fee has just been approved).

The BBC plans may also be in for a lashing from the European Commission. A green paper issued quietly last month on the Internet indicates disapproval for state funds to cross-subsidize any of the new media.

Murdoch may also not go unscathed, as the commission reviews the role of large media and IT companies in the new technology, particularly in the area of convergence and the resulting media oligopolies, horizontally as well as vertically. Results from the commission and the green paper were due by the end of June.