Freeview boss concedes its HbbTV regional offering is ‘complex’ due to absence of Prime and WIN

Freeview Australia’s general manager Liz Ross has conceded the absence of two major regional broadcasters from its new HbbTV offering Freeview Plus has created a “complex” picture for consumers outside the five major metropolitan markets.

As Mumbrella revealed earlier this year, Prime Media withdrew from the industry body in June citing concerns about the market penetration in regional areas of HbbTV while WIN has not been a member of Freeview since 2012, leaving Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) as the only dedicated regional commercial broadcaster with a Freeview Plus offering.

SCA’s digital director Clive Dickens said that the absence of Prime and WIN was unfortunate as it gave rise to a perception of a two speed economy when it came to the free-to-air offering, while Ross admitted “it is a bit of a complex map”.

She added: “Broadly speaking regional Australians will receive the Southern Cross services that are available in their area and in some cases they deliver more than one service, for example in some places they deliver a Seven service and a Ten service. They will also have the ABC and SBS service.