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19/04/2012
BBC To Return £300m Of Digital Switchover Money
Almost half of the £600m allocated to help people make the switchover from analogue to digital TV will be returned by the BBC after the change was not as problematic as it was feared it might have been.
A total of £603m was allocated out of licence fee revenues to help the over-75s, the blind and partially sighted and with other serious disabilities get digital TV.
The total cost of helping people make the switch has been much cheaper than the original projection.
The BBC now expects to return almost £300m of the £603m fund to the government, substantially higher than previous estimates of a £250m underspend.
The money will be spent on broadband rollout and culture secretary Jeremy Hunt's plan to develop new local TV services across the country.
The last big major hurdle to a digital-only future was cleared on Wednesday when analogue BBC1, ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5 were turned off across the London region.
(H)
A total of £603m was allocated out of licence fee revenues to help the over-75s, the blind and partially sighted and with other serious disabilities get digital TV.
The total cost of helping people make the switch has been much cheaper than the original projection.
The BBC now expects to return almost £300m of the £603m fund to the government, substantially higher than previous estimates of a £250m underspend.
The money will be spent on broadband rollout and culture secretary Jeremy Hunt's plan to develop new local TV services across the country.
The last big major hurdle to a digital-only future was cleared on Wednesday when analogue BBC1, ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5 were turned off across the London region.
(H)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A very mild, but mostly cloudy day, although with some bright or sunny spells. It will be mostly dry in the morning, but a little patchy light rain or drizzle at times in the afternoon. Maximum temperature 14 °C.Tonight:A band of heavier rain will move east during the evening before clearing eastwards after midnight. then mostly dry through the early hours, but a little rain towards dawn. Minimum temperature 8 °C.
