DTT to be main TV service in 44% of Western European homes by 2012, says report
June 11, 2008 - Digital terrestrial television is enjoying strong growth in Europe and will be the main TV service in 44% of Western European homes by 2012, according to a new report from ABI Research.
The findings, part of the company's research brief "European DTT Services Snapshot", attribute the projected growth to the imminent analogue switch-over in many of the region's countries, as well as the fact that most DTT services are free to air (FTA). Pay-DTT services are also "carving a niche" however, depending on factors that include the availability of digital alternatives. “Some pay-DTT providers are positioning their service as a kind of ‘halfway house’ between free-to-air services and other forms of pay-TV,” said senior analyst Cesar Bachelet. "They offer all the regular FTA programs, plus some premium content at an attractive price."
Italy, is expected to show the strongest growth in DTT over the next five years, with pay-DTT expected to be a leading component of that growth due to several reasons including plenty of sports programming, and the prevalence of "pay-as-you-go" services that don’t require a commitment to subscribe. In Belgium however, where much of the country's population receives its TV via cable, DTT is not expected to get much traction as the migration to digital television will primarily occur within the cable environment.
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