RSN is lending its support this week to the Silver Voices campaign which aims to highlight the importance of broadcast TV and Radio to elderly communities. 

Tomorrow, the organisation will be publishing a report in partnership with Broadcast 2040+, which RSN is an active member, which will reveal the true extent of the public’s support for traditional broadcast services.

It follows the publication of the pre-legislative scrutiny from the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee which agreed with many of the principles set out by Broadcast 2040+. That led to so a perceived climbdown by the Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer who told the Royal Television Society in a speech in September that “New ways of consuming TV should not come at the expense of those who still enjoy terrestrial television.

“We’re not going to pull the rug from under the devoted audiences of Freeview channels... We want terrestrial television to remain accessible for the foreseeable future.” 

RSN Chief Executive, Kerry Booth, says she is pleased the government seems to be listening and is looking forward to the publication of the new Silver Voices report: “All too often, decisions that affect rural communities are made by people who have no concept of what rural life is really like.  “The truth of the matter is that for older audiences, especially in rural areas, traditional broadcast services are vital.  Rural connectivity is so poor that for some people, digital services simply won’t work.  This will leave them without access to TV or radio which, again for older people, are a lifeline to the real world.”

RSN will share the report in next week’s Bulletin.