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In retail, they are called "loss leaders"—promotional items used as lures to generate more business. The British Broadcasting Corporation is considering giving away digital set-top boxes to subscribers as "seed" to help develop interest in digital television, according to public comments made February 8 by the organization's director general Greg Dyke.

Concerned that not all viewers will have made the transition to digital by the time the old analog system is discarded, Dyke stated that providing the STBs would win over viewers who cling doggedly to the old format. The BBC had hoped that an expanded number of channels with new programming would be sufficient to sway such viewers, but may have to resort to a giveaway to complete the task.

Approximately six million homes in Britain are now equipped for digital—about 30% of the total viewership. The broadcasting industry expects that percentage to plateau at around 75%—far from the 98% needed to legally shut off analog transmissions.

The industry frowns on subsidized equipment unless it's part of a subscription deal, according to a news item by Matt Wells in the February 9 edition of The Guardian, but the BBC may use subscribers' funds to finance the project. The British government hopes to complete the changeover to digital broadcasting sometime between 2006 and 2010.