Telly addicts go cold Turkey as BBC2 is switched off
Millions of BBC2 fans who had neglected to acquire a digital set top box have been forced to suffer an evening without the flickering light after the BBC Two analogue signal was switched off at a number of transmitters.
The plug was pulled at 54 transmission towers across the country as part of the latest stage in a gradual phase out of all analogue signals, described by a Digital UK spokesperson as “the biggest day for broadcasting since the introduction of colour in 1967.”
The switch didn’t proceed smoothly however as, despite a multi-million pound advertising campaign, up to one million were caught on the hop.
It saw the Beeb’s emergency hotline go into meltdown as thousands got on the blower to find out what was going on.
Thus far around two thirds of the country has made the switch to digital with a further 2.5m households set to follow in the coming months.
No date for a complete switch off of analogue signals, currently only available in the north east, Kent, East Sussex and Northern Ireland, has yet been announced.