Big changes when analogue goes

[Star Spangler]

I wasn't aware that the oul tv aerial would be useless in 4 years time.  Dunshaughlin will never look the same again. 

Irish Independent
The death of analogue TV is nigh, long live digital

Big business is battling for a new viewing market, writes Laura Noonan

Thursday January 17 2008

After decades as a cornerstone of Ireland's media landscape, analogue TV is headed for the scrapheap.

By 2012, the rabbit ears and their more fashionable hoopshaped friends will be consigned to rubbish bins. Any saved will be purely ornamental, devoid of practical use.

In their place will stand a gleaming Digital Terestrial Television (DTT) box, heralding a completely new era for Ireland's TV industry and consumers alike.

However, with switch off still some four years off, most consumers are completely unaware of the impending revolution.

Industry, on the other hand, is positively abuzz with talks on DTT. And it's not just the traditional players, everyone from BT, to Eircom and RTE has been involved in talks of some sort or as the DTT landgrab cranks into gear.

DTT will begin with four commercial multiplex platforms, or MUXs as they are known in the trade.

Each MUX can carry between four and 12 digital channels depending on the technical spec agreed on -- the broadcasting commission say 8 is the "most probable" number.

These channels will then be received on a digital box, not dissimilar to the boxes that the likes of Sky and UPC, the owner of Chorus/NTL, use throughout Ireland.

As the public service broadcaster, RTE's right to one MUX is enshrined in law. That MUX will carry RTE's channels and must also offer space to TV3 and TG4.

Crucially, all the stations on the RTE MUX must be available free of charge on these new digital boxes, so the RTE MUX will essentially replace the current free-to-all analague stations.

Offering those free-to-air stations will take up four of RTE's 8 to 12 slots.

When DTT was first mooted at the turn of the millenium, the powers that be in Montrose dreamt up ambitious plans for new RTE services that could be aired.

A 2003 restructure and an elevated focus on cost control, however, has nipped those plans in the bud and sources now say RTE is "very unlikely" to use its spare slots for new RTE stations.

Instead, RTE has advanced plans to air Northern Ireland's free-to-air stations on Ireland's public service MUX. The plans, outlined in an August letter to the European Commission, could ultimately see BBC1, BBC2, UTV and Channel 4 made available free in Ireland, in return for RTE being carried on the North's Freeview DTT platform.

If the proposal were to become a reality, about 97pc of Ireland's households could access all four UK channels for free.

As more than two thirds of households now pay for extra channels through cable or digital platforms, would they continue to pay if they could get eight channels for free?

Ireland's TV masters certainly don't want to wait to find out.

Multinational giant UPC has already tabled a complaint with the EC on the competition implications of what RTE is planning to do.

"We pay a lot of money for BBC etc, and if any state body wants to then give it away for free, that's a massive concern for us," says UPC's Ireland strategy director Ray Collins.

UPC's main competitor Sky is of a similar view, though it is cheering from the sidelines rather than pursuing its own actions, and the folks over at TV3 are none to pleased either.

"We spend a lot of money on Irish rights," says head of operations Peter Ennis. "If they want to make the likes of UTV free-toair, so be it, but they should have to blank out the rights for things like Coronation Street or Eastenders or sporting games.

Other elements of RTE's plans, however, are being very well received in TV3's Ballymount base, including TV3's inclusion on the public service MUX.

RTE sources point out TV3 will have to pay more to be carried on the public service MUX than on the commercial ones, as the public MUX will have far greater coverage. Ennis, however, is hugely enthusiastic about the prospect of heightened coverage and says his station is "very likely" to happily pay the premium.

Then there's the three commercial MUXs, which are expected to be put out to tender towards the end of February.

In its August letter, RTE expressed an interest in becoming involved in some kind of "joint venture" that would oversee the four commercial MUXs.

The specifics of the commercial venture weren't detailed, but the very idea of RTE's involvement was enough to exercise UPC who duly added RTE's commercial ambitions to their European complaint.

"There are a huge number of commercial stakeholders looking to do something in DTT. RTE have their MUX and they will do the engineering for they whole thing, but they are not needed on the commercial aspects," says Collins.

Senior sources in RTE insist their interest is purely with a view to bringing RTE to the best possible fruition. "DTT is very important for the future of RTE and for broadcasting generally," says one. "We have a desire to help make this thing happen, not to control it."

DTT is likely to play a major role in the evolution of Ireland's TV landscape, as it lays roots in homes with no paid for TV, homes who don't want the swathes of channels offered by traditional digital and homes that want cheaper digital packages for secondary TV sets.

As such, the companies across the TV and telecoms industry are all grappling for a piece of the action.

William McAuliffe, business development manager at BT Ireland confirms his company is intersted in looking at "how best we could support a national DTT service".

Paul Bradley, head of communications at Eircom, says his firm is also actively looking at DTT options with a view to being a "content aggregator" while Setanta commercial director Mark Mohan says they are "likely to participate" in the upcoming licencing round.

Meanwhile, over at TV3 Ennis says the broadcaster is very intersted in commercial MUXs as a possible home for the stations second and subsequent channels, which it hopes to have on air in 2009 or 2010.

And UPC's Collins says his firm is very interested in playing a role in DTT's roll out, despite the EC complaint. "Let me be very clear on this, we're not anti-DTT, we're anti state involvement in commercial business," he adds. Other names mentioned in DTT talks are Sky and some of the players in Sweden's thriving DTT market.

All potential contenders, however, insist they have yet to make a final decision on whether they will apply for one MUX in their own right or multiple MUXs as part of a consortium, so how things will ultimately shake out is anybody's guess.

"We'll have better sense of that when the beauty parade starts," says BCI chief executive Michael O'Keeffe.

On foot of that beauty parade, the BCI hopes to award licences in summer and have some DTT started by late 2008 or 2009, ahead of analogue switch off in 2012.

Let the landgrab begin.

[An Fear Rua]

The ordinary roof aerial will be fine, theres no such thing as a digital aerial, and the majority of Tvs on sale today come with a built in digital tuner anyways.

Theres lots of tv aerial fitter making a lot of money by unsuspecting punters thinking they need a new aerial.

[amallon]

Are you sure about this AFR?  The freeview reception is very patchy in our house sometimes you can get some channels other times its jumpy and unwatchable.  We put this down to the old aerial.  A neighbour 100 yards away gets all the channels perfectly.

[ziggysego]

You do need an aertal to receive digital television. Mind you, tram will be able to give a more definate answer.

[An Fear Rua]

Are you sure about this AFR?  The freeview reception is very patchy in our house sometimes you can get some channels other times its jumpy and unwatchable.  We put this down to the old aerial.  A neighbour 100 yards away gets all the channels perfectly.

Yeah , Im running two freeview boxes off nothing more than a comb in the loft. Worst case scenario is that you need a new aerial anyway for analogue, But there is no need to get a new aerial just for freeview/Digital.

[amallon]

Are there issues with digital signal strength in areas of the North?  I would imagine that its unlikely that any domestic applicances would running at a high enough voltage to be interfering with the signal?

[An Fear Rua]

Are there issues with digital signal strength in areas of the North?  I would imagine that its unlikely that any domestic applicances would running at a high enough voltage to be interfering with the signal?

Im in exile , so I cant answer that, but there are less brit camps to blame these days, so signal should be improving.

[ziggysego]

I knew you wouldn't let me down tram

[Rossfan]

Do those Freeview boxes work anywhere this side of the Border?

[Main Street]

Are you sure about this AFR?  The freeview reception is very patchy in our house sometimes you can get some channels other times its jumpy and unwatchable.  We put this down to the old aerial.  A neighbour 100 yards away gets all the channels perfectly.

If your aerial is exposed to the elements it could be your cable has got water in it. Where the cable is connected to the aerial may be a bit waterlogged, the earth connection rusted out etc.
Have a look at it, a good inspection takes away part of the guesswork.

[The Watcher Pat]

I can get some of the channel's perfectly and some not at all...Apparently they are sent out at 2 different frequencies and my Aeriel is only good enough to pick up one of the frequencies....Any truth? Or are they just trying to flog me another Aeriel?

[ONeill]

All the oul TVs in the bedrooms will be redundant in 4 years unless you have the Freeview/Digital in.

All the oul blades will be going buck daft when they're stuck on Channel XXX for three days.

[amallon]

Cheers lads. 

When the Analog is switched off north and south does that mean that we won't be able to get RTE & TG4 in the North?