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By Matthew Broersma, 29 October 2002 09:35

NEWS The BBC and BSkyB's successor to ITV Digital will launch on Wednesday, aiming to make digital television accessible to a broader audience. The BBC and its broadcasting partner, Crown Castle, will quietly launch what is intended to be a new chapter in digital television on Wednesday, in the form of Freeview - the successor to ITV Digital, the failed digital terrestrial broadcaster. The Freeview service, available through digital terrestrial television (DTT) adapters, will be the first time viewers will have access to a wide range of digital television programming without needing to pay a subscription fee. The service will offer some interactive functions, such as the ability to display background information about players in a sporting event. It is an important step in the government's plans to increase digital television take-up to the point where analogue signals can be turned off, and the valuable spectrum resold. BBC spokesman John Ashworth said: "The exciting thing about this is that for the first time, all the free digital channels will be there, plus radio, as a free service. A number of people have been interested in expanding their viewing options, but they haven't gone digital yet because they don't want pay-TV. This is a good opportunity for Freeview to increase its audience." However, some may question the logic of launching a service without the opportunity to upgrade to subscription-based channels, such as those carrying premium sports events or movies - the 'crown jewels' as far as pay-TV firms NTL, Sky and Telewest are concerned. The service launches at 06:00 on Wednesday with 12 radio stations and more than 20 television channels available, including Sky News, BBC Choice and all the analogue terrestrial channels. Some viewers may not be able to receive ITV and Channel 4, however, because Crown Castle has switched to a stronger broadcast signal while ITV stayed with the weaker signal it used for ITV Digital. The service will be immediately available to up to two million households with the old ITV Digital set-top boxes, although these will need to be retuned. The BBC, Crown Castle and BSkyB, who are all backing Freeview, hope that manufacturing partners will be able to sell up to one million more Freeview adapters by Christmas. Pace was the first to bring out an adapter specifically designed for Freeview, and is estimated to have sold about 100,000. Some manufacturers have said they plan to sell more advanced boxes which combine Freeview with internet capabilities. Matthew Broersma writes for ZDNet.co.uk