Digital switch may cost less - BBC
Updated on 14 January 2009
Not all of the licence fee money ring-fenced to pay for the digital switchover may be needed, the BBC said.
Caroline Thomson, the BBC's chief operating officer, told the House of Lords Communications Committee that the cost may be lower than projected and there might well be an underspend.
Around £800m has been set aside to pay for the costs of the switchover - £600m for the help scheme which includes money towards digital boxes to help groups such as the elderly and £200m on an information campaign.
Big areas like the Granada region are due to switch over later this year.
Ms Thomson qualified any idea of a potential underspend by saying: "We have not yet done a big conurbation."
She said that at the moment the money was being spent and added: "It's very early days. We will have a good view by the end of this year as to whether the money, particularly on the free boxes, is likely to be spent."
She added that if any money was not spent, there would be a debate on what happened to it.
In February last year the National Audit Office also suggested that the money put aside may be £250m too much.
All TV regions are expected to go digital by 2012.
The first full-scale switch in the nationwide programme giving viewers a greater choice of channels took place in November, in the Selkirk transmitter group.
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