Digital Terrestrial Television - A spectacular success story

Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) is a spectacular success. With its low cost and easy access it has become the most popular delivery platform for television content in Europe.

– DTT networks currently deliver some 2000 TV channels within Europe alone.

– Approximately 50% of European households, some 250 million viewers, enjoy the benefits of DTT each spending some 4 hours watching linear TV every day.

– A DTT service is now available to the vast majority of European consumers and the service is easily accessible with DTT tuners now integrated in virtually all TVs.

– The European developed suite of standards (DVB) for DTT are the most widely accepted and implemented standards in the world (Europe, Russia, India, Thailand, Australia, Africa).

– Terrestrial Broadcasters have made and continue to make substantial investments to enable terrestrial broadcasting to migrate to DTT and evolve to support consumer demand, launch of HD services. The switchover to DTT has also enabled the clearance of the 800 MHz band for mobile broadband leaving the remainder of the terrestrial broadcast band, 470 – 790 MHz intensively and efficiently utilised.

– European households rely mainly on DTT for reception to secondary sets around the home..

– DTT is one of the most cost effective options for media delivery: with network costs of typically between € 0.2-1.5 per household per month for up to 60 channels distributed 24/7. The lower figure applies to countries with large population, the higher to smaller countries. In both cases the network cost is almost negligible when compared with competing broadband solutions.

– The DTT service is easily accessible via a low cost set top box or integrated digital television connected to an aerial. The service is typically free at the point of consumption and provides a wide offering of free-to-air content.

– In addition, in some member states low-cost and premium subscription TV have been successfully introduced in the DTT networks.

– Linear TV consumption in the UK has remained stable over the last three years at an average 4 hours per day, but with older age groups showing a marked increase in viewing time[1].

– A recent detailed appraisal of the spectrum needs of DTT in the UK has concluded that the DTT platform has a key role to play in the delivery of content to UK consumers until at least 2030[2].

– It must also be taken into consideration that in several EU member states, already existing licenses for terrestrial broadcasting extend to 2020 and beyond.