Government’s YouTube push for digital TV switchover anything but ready
Efforts by digital minister Stephen Conroy to use YouTube as a means of selling the digital TV switchover have met with a slow response with less than five people per month subscribing to the channel.
Eight months after the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy set up the DBCDE YouTube channel, it has just 38 subscribers.
Of the 11 videos posted to date, only one has (just) had more than 1000 views. As an (entirely unfair) point of comparison, if the population of Australia took as long to switch to digital as they have to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Australia would not be ready for digital switchover for another 367,000 years. The current deadline is the end of 2013.
However, the department is perservering with the channel, uploading three new videos last week.
One of them features Andy Townend, who is leading the digital switchover taskforce, giving an overview of the drive to switch off analogue TV. At the time of writing, the presentation has had four views (including one by Mumbrella).
There are a further two videos – with five views and nine views respectively – featuring the government’s “Get ready” digital switchover information ads created by ad agency BMF:
However, one aspect of the infomation drive not previously commented upon which has the potential to confuse consumers, emerges at the 5:30 point of Townend’s presentation.
TVs on sale that are already capabale of receiving digital now have a “READY” label. But rather than labelling TVs that do not have built-in digital tuner as “NOT READY”, they are being labelled as “CAPABLE”.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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What if Analogue tv had “an annoying popup” like a certain friendly paperclip? just to push the point along?
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Who is advising Andy Townend? That would have to be the most boring presentation I’ve ever seen! Surely in a government department that includes ‘Communications’ in its title can at least afford to employ a few people who can give him some advice about how to make an interesting an engaging presentation? Who exactly is his target audience here? People who want some boring information to send them asleep? I couldn’t finish watching it – even though I was interested – it was just too boring.
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The video with Andy is putting me to sleep.
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grumble grumble
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At least the governments ad for Digital TV is actually vaguely interesting unlike that piece of arse from the Freeview people. It’s like they are actively trying to derail Digital TV rather than attempting to inspire me to get it.
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Lasted 37sec……..Could be a record……..Let me know if anyone can watch longer
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this is an appalling waste of government communications money. how does mia garlick justify this sort of waste? there are other government departments with their own you tube channels…can i suggest someone tell this broadband department to have a look at how it is done? this is a disgrace.
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The friendly paperclip? Lets not forget that annoying dog…
YouTube is not the answer, it might have been for John Howards’ resignation speech but not for a complete overhaul of the Australian broadcasting protocol – change it, and fast before thousands of homes are left wondering what on earth happened to their tele’s
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Conroy should see what his boss is doing with us here at Viocorp
http://www.pm.gov.au/Media_Centre/Multimedia
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Viocorp mate…what happened to your white balance on the wide shots? we have a problem. your mid/close-ups are white balanced beautifully….but what happened to the wides…and the exposure too? The wide looks a little over exposed. I think I’d be making sure of the technical quality before promoting your work…
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Why are we switching to digital? Is it because they need the spectrum for something else? It probably sound s like a very stupid question I know but I just don’t know why the change is necessary.
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why would someone watch this? boring content is boring content regardless of screen.
Well of course it is Ben, it’s the same with Foxtel. Save for the sport there isn’t anything particularly on worth watching. Channel Ten have created an entire channel around sport. Id’ rather stick my eyes out with a bodkin than watch garbage like the latest tidddlywinks championships from Peoria.
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“the latest tidddlywinks championships from Peoria.”
damn, don’t tell me this was on and I missed it!