It is unrealistic to expect them to change their viewing habits immediately Look at the internet. When people first surfed the net, they looked at two or three sites. Once they had gained confidence, they started to explore – and they were off.”The apparent lack of interest in the channels hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm of Freeview’s shareholders, which plan to launch two new channels this year and another in 2004. The first will be provided by CBM Media, which will broadcast a mix of “secondary” sports and fi- nancial news under a deal with Bloomberg.In May Tony Ball, chief executive of BSkyB, let slip that he was planning a new mass-market entertainment channel on Freeview. BSkyB already operates three channels on the platform, and it is understood the new venture will replace an existing one, thought to be SkyTravel.This raises further questions because analysts still haven’t quite fathomed exactly why BSkyB invested in Freeview.

The two theories are that:a) it is a defensive move – if it invests in Freeview then BSkyB can prevent it being a direct competitor;b) BSkyB believes that once people have developed a taste for multi-channel TV on Freeview then they may sign up for its own more comprehensive service.”In terms of revenues, Freeview is a complete non-starter,” says Hellen Omwando, an analyst at research group Forrester. “Running platforms is very expensive, so Freeview may one day need to look for revenues.” This pressure could come from BSkyB.Mr Seaman responds: “I am constantly being asked for stories about Freeview boardroom bust-ups, but the interests of the shareholders are aligned.”However, Trevor Brignall, a business development director at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, says: “The big issue for Freeview is what happens at the BBC’s charter renewal in 2006 This may change the way Freeview is funded. After the renewal, it may not be paid for from the licence fee.”If this is the case, Freeview may have to make its customers pay for certain channels. Mr Seaman says: “I don’t see any pressure from BSkyB to launch a pay-TV model.

The Freeview proposition has worked perfectly well so far because it is very simple But never say never. Who knows what will happen when the analogue signal is switched off?”That could be three years away, but more realistically seven. So Freeview has a clear run at convincing the 50 per cent of households with just five TV channels that they need many more.Don’t use the ‘a’ word: the BBC calls them trailersBy Jason Niss?nd Kaveri NiththyananthanYou could hardly miss it. Almost every time you turned on BBC1 or BBC2, you saw TV journalist John Simpson, actor Terence Stamp, comedian Richard Blackwood or June Brown (Dot Cotton from EastEnders) tearing their faces off to tell you about Freeview.But they weren’t advertising Freeview Not according to the BBC.