University of Pisa

International SemesterThe Economics of the Information System in the EU

Diffusion of the Digital Terrestrial Television in the EU

Academic Year 2007-2008

Professor:

Marco Guidi

Main Topics

What is the DTT ?

Digital Terrestrial Television

DTT and Innovations

Devices

Interventions of the EU

in the field of Telecommunication

Switch-off in the EU

Digital television and DTT in UK, Italy,

Spain, Germany, France

Conclusions

Digital Terrestrial Television - DTT

digital signal

analogical signal

DVB : Digital Video Broadcasting

Digital Terrestrial Television - DTT

• a whole range of international standards created for the

involvement and the diffusion of the digital television. • 3 most important ways to receive the analogical and

digital signals: satellite, cable and terrestrial.

• 3 different international standards:

DVB-S : for satelliteDVB-C: for cable

DVB-T: for terrestrial

DTT and Innovations (1/5)

The Dtt : whole range of new services and functions

The most relevant innovations of the DTT are: 1 - High audio-video quality

2 – Multi-channel-TV

3 - Pay-tv

4 - Interactivity

5 - Less electromagnetic pollution

Improvement of the audio-video quality

digital signal is cleaner

than the analogical signal:

technology of suppression of the

noises

digital images are free

from the interferences

that are typical of the analogical

television

DTT and Innovations (2/5)

DTT and Innovations (3/5)

Multichannel-TV

Frequency used by the digital standards : from 5 to 10 channels *

Bigger offer of the programming:

Frequency used by the analogical standards : only 1 channel

Lots of channel

sFor free

Pay-per view

Nazional

foreign

DTT: more powerfull in terms of quantity

* n. channels depends on the type and the quality

DTT and Innovations (4/5)

Interactivity

Analogical TV : passive role of the customer To change channel

To change volume

Digital TV: exchange of messages and bidirectional communication

Decoder

Broadcaster

FeedbackFeedback

Customer

A system is interactive when its behaviour is not fixed, but it changes, when the input of the user changes

Interactivity

Two big groups of interactive services:

1) CONTENT-RELATED

2) NON CONTENT-RELATED •T-commerce

• Tv-banking

• Enhanced broadcasting

• Internet

• Quiz-test

• Polls

• Games

• T-government (interaction between the users and the Public Administrations)

• Polls

• Healthy (interaction between the users and the healthy structures)

• Education and training

• EPG - Electronic Programming Guide

DTT and Innovations (5/4)

Pay-Television

DTT IS FOR FREE + PAY - DTT

the possibility to pay for having some special television programs or

contents

In Europe several pay-tv companies failed:

• Quiero-tv: Spain

• ITVdigital-ONDigital : UK

• Stream and Tele+: Italy

• Pay per view: the programs are transmitted at a specific time for all the potential audience

VS

• Video On Demand: the contents are transmitted only to the customers who have paid for them

WHAT YOU NEED TO RECEIVE THE DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL SIGNAL

1. Decoder or Set-top-box

Analogical signal

or

3. Digital Television

2. Remote control

Digital signal

It is not necessary to replace our television, but just to buy:

Lots of regulations:

Program interventions of the EU

in the field of Telecommunication

• Standardization

• e-Europe plans: eEurope2000 and eEurope 2005

• Telecom Package• New rules in the audio-video industry

• Pluralism, public information, digital literacy

Interventions of the EU in the field of

TelecommunicationSwitch off : the most important step

for the

future of the DTT Start of transition to the DTT: 2008

The decisions about regulating and ways of the transition appertain to the government of each Member State

Final Switch-off : 2012(to switch-off the analogical signal)

Diffusion of digital TV and DTT in the EU

2007 - 2008 : the half of European television houses had one access to the digital television

2005 : this number was equal to one third

Today: 80 millions of houses with at least one digital decoder : increase of the 50% compared with the year 2005

DTT is the second digital platform in Europe,

after the digital satellite platform

DATA: ITMedia Consulting Report about digital television in EU

– published on March 2008 -

Third conference of DGTVi

Diffusion of digital TV and DTT in the EU

Some European States have already made the switch-off:

Luxemburg, Netherlands, Finland and Sweden have not anymore the analogical television.

• Penetration digital TV = 48% of the television houses

WESTERN EUROPE 2007:

• Satellite is the most popular digital television : 43% of digital reception

• DTT: the highest rhythm of increase

• IPTV (Internet Protocol Television): 3.5 millions of subscribers

Diffusion of digital TV and DTT in the EU

• The houses with only the analogical television are decreasing :

2005 : 110 millions

2006 : 98 millions

2007 : 86 millions

• Analysis of 5 States:

UK – Germany – France – Italy - Spain

They have different characteristics, but very similar trends.

Diffusion of digital television in UK

The biggest market of digital television :

• 84% of British families = twice over of the other Stases

(Germany, France, Italy, Spain)

• DTT has surpassed the digital satellite:

• DTT : 12 millions of families; a regular growth rate - equal to 20% per year

• 2007: there were less than 4 millions of analogical houses to convert

• 17 October 2007 Switch-off started in Cumbria

Diffusion of digital television in France

• 41% of French families has the digital television,

a little bit less than 10 millions of houses

• The DTT was launched on March 2005

• today DTT has already surpassed the satellite:

the 19.5% of dtt houses against the 18.9% of satellite-houses

• 9.4 millions of French families to convert to the digital technology,

but with the actual growth rhythm it is possible that at the end of the year 2008 the penetration of the digital television will be equal to the 60%

Diffusion of digital television in Germany

Delay in the process of transition

because of the big presence of analogical cable

• TODAY: 20% of the houses continues to use the analogical technology to watch TV

• the analogical cable allows a very big offer of free channels very similar to the offer of the digital terrestrial (30-40 channels).

the incentive to make transition from analogical cable to digital cable is very less strong than the incentive to make transition from analogical terrestrial television to digital terrestrial television

Diffusion of digital television in Spain

Spain is making up for lost time in the process of digitalization

thanks to the DTT

Penetration of digital TV:2006 : 20%

June 2007: 40%

At the end of 2007: 50% • DTT is the most prevalent

digital platform

• Spain is the second European market for the diffusion of IPTV

Spanish houses

Diffusion of digital television in Italy

• Penetration June 2007 : 45% of the total

• Satellite : 5.8 millions of families and 4.2 millions are subscribers

of pay-services

• IPTV : 2 most important operators: Fastweb + Alice = 250.000 subscribers

Diffusion of DTT in UK

• 1/3 of the television houses – 9.1 millions of families – has one access to the DTT

• From the year 2002, 20.6 millions of receivers for the DTT have been sold

• DTT represents the driver of the increase of the access to the digital technology

• The number of the televisions that use the DTT is twice over

of the number of the analogical terrestrial televisions

Diffusion of DTT in France

• June 2007: 4.7 millions of houses were endowed with at least

one receiver for the DTT

• 400.000 houses are subscribers of some pay-bouquets of DTT = 1.6% of French television houses

• From the launch of DTT - March 2005 – 8.2 millions of televisions to receive the DTT has been sold

Diffusion of DTT in Germany

• The DTT is marginal

• Germany adopted a Regional approach to make the switch-off

• The DTT allowed to increase the use of terrestrial television

• there are 600.000 analogical houses to convert

• “Ard” - public service operator - planned to complete the switch-off within the end of 2008

Diffusion of DTT in Spain

Failure of Quiero-TV - pay-platform of DTT

November 2005 : re-launch of DTT

with a wide offer of 20 channels for freefor free

Penetration:

2005 : 4.4 %

2006: 14.4%

2007: 19.4%

March 2003 – June 2007 :

5.8 millions of DTT devices sold

Diffusion of DTT in Italy

• Dtt is the second digital platform for diffusion,

after the digital satellite platform

• February 2004 - June 2007 : 5.6 millions of Dtt devices sold

The 41% of the sold decoders enjoyed the incentives pay in force as of 2004 until 2005 and only for the Regions called “all-digital” (Sardinia and Valle d’Aosta which were the first Italian Regions to start the switch-off) until 2006

• From February 2009, all the sold televisions will have to hold

a digital tuner

Conclusions (1/2)

• Western Europe : almost the 40% of the television houses is digital

• Satellite is still the most diffused tool to receive the digital television

• The DTT is the second platform for diffusion, but it has a growth rate very superior compared with the satellite one

• 5 big Nations analysed: some peculiarities, but very similar trends

From today until the year of the European switch-off (2012)

the increase of the use of the digital technology will be mainly

represented by the DTT

• The cable and the satellite will increase as well,

but with less important growth rate

• Big obstacle for pay-tv : low proneness to spend lots of money for television contents

2012 : the DTT will be the most diffused modality of television signal reception in European Member States

Conclusions (2/2)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

PLEASE MAIL US:

Prof. Marco Guidi: mel.guidi@ec.unipi.it

Valeria : valeria.puddu@gmail.com