More than four million households may have to pay an extra £218 a year to stream television channels online if terrestrial TV is switched off, report warns

More than four million households could be forced to pay an extra £218 a year to stream television channels if terrestrial TV is switched off, according to a new report. A new report reveals that 4.3 million households, who solely rely on broadcast TV, could be forced to pay an additional £218 per year to switch to internet streaming, while 31 per cent of viewers say they could not afford additional costs to access broadband and online TV services. The regulator Ofcom warned earlier this year that changing audience habits and rising costs could force a tipping point within the next decade A new report reveals that 4.3 million households, who solely rely on broadcast TV, could be forced to pay an additional £218 per year to switch to internet streaming The report was commissioned by Arqiva, a broadcast infrastructure company and a member of the Broadcast 2040+ coalition which has called for the Government to 'protect traditional terrestrial TV received for free via an aerial'. A full switchover to internet-only TV viewing would cost £888 million in additional annual fixed broadband subscription costs for these households who otherwise would not take it, equivalent to £18.17 per month per household, or £218 per year.