[Neil Jones]

if the very vast majority of people are using other means to watch TV, then that places a huge question mark over the future of maintaining the existing freeview transmission network, which is not a cheap endeavour. Presumably that is where Freesat comes in.

Freesat will have costs as well, they're just less transparent than Freeview, which obviously has the aerials, the masts, the existing infrastructure...

Not sure how it works for Freesat considering the satellites cost an arm and a leg to build, test, launch and whatever else - there must be some agreement somehow to pay that back, and its probably the leasing/"renting" of the transponders and the uplinks to get your signals up there?