Captions tell viewers 'switchover is coming'

TV viewers in Whitehaven, Cumbria will be the first to see captions about the digital switchover on analog television channels from next week.

The translucent captions, warning viewers that their TV signal is switching to digital, will appear on BBC One, BBC Two, ITV and Channel 4 from May 8. The messages will appear during programmes at different times of day, from 6am to midnight.

The messages will appear intermittently for around a minute at a time, over the top of the screen in the months leading up to switchover in Whitehaven.

The first captions read: "If you are not ready to receive digital TV by October 17 you’ll start losing your channels. For more information call Digital UK on 08456 50 50 50."

Beth Thoren, Digital UK's director of communications, the organisation leading the UK’s digital switchover, said: "This is the most targeted means of communication we have. People who see the captions will know for sure that they are in the switchover area, and that any analog TV set they are watching must be converted."

Although Whitehaven is the first place to see the captions, they will appear throughout the UK in the run-up to each local switchover, which takes place region-by-region, finishing in 2012.