Italy, France, Spain to miss switchover dates?
Several European countries will miss deadlines for switching off analogue television signals, according to a new report from Screen Digest. With some markets just two years away from their target switchover date, the report, European Digital Terrestrial Television: Market Assessment and Forecasts, says many nations now appear to have "set ambitious targets that, on the face of it, can never be met".
Italy, France and Spain face the biggest challenges. Though each nation set switchover dates between 2010 and 2012, two to four years later than most Benelux and Nordic markets, they have the largest number of analogue-reliant households in Europe—with Italy at nearly 14m, France at 12m and Spain at 9.3m at the end of 2005. The report says the UK, with 7.5m analogue-reliant homes, is expected to meet its 2008-2012 switchover timetable.
Screen Digest believes Germany will meet its 2008 target, having already completed switchover in Berlin. The report says just 5% of German households rely on analogue terrestrial television in a market dominated by low-cost cable and free-to-air satellite services.
Report author Guy Bisson said: "Analogue switch-off is currently top of the media agenda in many European countries and a number of Europe's most important television markets look set to fall woefully short of their targets. Analogue switch-off dates therefore seem bound to slip. Several European markets will have to face that fact that significant investment in consumer equipment will be required over the next few years."
Screen Digest country forecasts:
UK:
- 6.5m DTT homes by year-end 2005
- 11.6m DTT homes by 2009
- Expected analogue switch-off complete by end of 2012
France:
- 1.1m DTT homes by year-end 2005
- 5.7m DTT homes by 2009
- Expected analogue switch-off 2010
Germany:
- 1.64m DTT homes by year-end 2005
- 3.4m DTT homes by 2009
- Analogue switch-off target date 2008
Italy:
- 3.3m DTT homes by year-end 2005
- 8.8m DTT homes by 2009
- Analogue switch off-target date December 2008
Spain:
- 700,000 DTT homes at year-end 2005
- 3.7m DTT homes by 2009
- Analogue switch-off target date April 2010
Netherlands:
- 160,000 DTT homes by year-end 2005
- 384,000 DTT homes by 2009
- Analogue switch-off 2007/2008 although could be moved forward to 2006
Sweden:
- 520,000 DTT homes by year-end 2005
- 625,000 DTT homes by 2009
- Analogue switch-off February 2008
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