Digital UK rebrands as Everyone TV and unveils new leadership team

Jonathan Thompson

Digital UK, the consortium responsible for running free TV platforms Freeview and Freesat, is changing its name to Everyone TV. Jointly-owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, the four partners said the change in name reflects “a revised mandate: to lead the evolution of free, universal, high-quality television, in a way that protects and strengthens the social glue provided by Britain’s broadcasting heritage.”

Freeview and Freesat, which together offer 100% coverage of the UK and serve 18 million British homes, will retain their consumer brand identities. But the new name for the overarching company is designed to ‘champion free TV for all’. The company said it will “guide Britain into a new era where audiences can still watch their favourite PSB TV shows without charge whatever platform they choose”.

Jonathan Thompson, CEO, Everyone TV, said: “Among our tasks in the years ahead is defusing a threat to universality that could catch the industry by surprise. From the Queen’s funeral to the victorious England women’s football team, shared moments of sorrow and joy, drama and poignancy, are currently brought into every British home simultaneously by our world-leading television industry. But that could be lost in a fragmented future world of TV viewing. We at Everyone TV will lead the evolution of free television services in the UK so that universality remains a fundamental principle.”

Digital UK was founded in 2005 to oversee the switchover from analogue to DTT. To mark the next chapter, there will be a new top-tier of directors under Thompson. These include chief commercial officer Deep Halder, formerly head of TV retail & content services at Samsung UK; chief technology office Orf Warr, formerly CTO of Channel 4. The chief product officer role will be shared between Sarah Milton and Carl Pfeiffer.

Thompson added: “Over the coming years, the vital role of television in information and education as well as entertainment will need careful oversight to protect it. Having the right senior leaders in post at Everyone TV is critical to ensuring we can achieve our strategic objectives of successfully delivering the evolution of our free TV platforms for a digital age and supporting the health of free-to-view TV for the long term.”