All commercial free-to-air broadcasters will be on the long-awaited electronic program guide for free digital viewers by 1 January next year, industry body Free TV has announced.
The FTA EPG is Australia’s first free electronic program guide, with all the commercial broadcasters on board.
Networks Nine and Ten will transmit their program data from Monday 19 November and the Seven Network is expected to commence from 1 January.
WIN Television has started providing its seven day EPG, while Prime and NBN will start on Monday 19 November and Southern Cross on 26 November.
Each network will be providing up to seven days of program data which is expected to be receivable by any digital set top box with an EPG functionality.
Chairman of Free TV and Seven Network chief executive David Leckie said the introduction of the EPG will “further drive take-up of free digital television”.
Julie Flynn, chief executive of Free TV, said: “Just as free TV networks reach every household in Australia, we want our program to be out there as well. The initiative will also accelerate take-up of free-to-view digital television, which given the rate of adoption, is now certainly in more than 30 per cent of Australian homes.”
The ABC and SBS are already broadcasting EPG data.
