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Week ending June 20, 2015

ITU - Deadline reached for switchover from analogue to digital TV – June 17 2015
from Sanjay Acharya/ITU

The deadline for the switchover from analogue to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), set at 00:01 UTC on 17 June 2015, heralds the development of ‘all-digital’ terrestrial broadcast services for sound and television for 119 countries belonging to ITU Region-1 (Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia) and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The 17 June deadline for switching off analogue television broadcasting in the UHF band was set by ITU Member States at the Regional Radiocommunication Conference in 2006, known as the GE06 Regional Agreement. Several countries that are party to the GE06 Agreement, as well as many who are not, have already made the transition.

The new digital GE06 Plan provides not only new possibilities for structured development of digital terrestrial broadcasting but also sufficient flexibilities for adaptation to the changing telecommunication environment.

“Today, 17 June, marks a historic landmark in the transition from analogue to digital television broadcasting,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. “The process, which began in June 2006, has re-envisioned the way the world watches and interacts with TV and opened the way for new innovations and developments in the broadcast industry.”

Digital TV broadcasting offers many advantages over analogue systems for end-users, operators and regulators. Apart from increasing the number of programmes, digital systems can provide new innovative services, such as interactive TV, electronic programme guides and mobile TV as well as transmit image and sound in high-definition (HDTV) and ultra-high definition (UHDTV). Digital TV requires less energy to ensure the same coverage as for analogue while decreasing overall costs of transmission. The more efficient use of radio spectrum brought on by digital TV also allows for the so-called digital dividend resulting from the freeing up of much-needed spectrum for use by other services, such as mobile broadband.

A symposium held at ITU marked "A milestone for Digital Terrestrial Television" towards establishing a more equitable, just and people-centred Information Society, connecting the unconnected in underserved and remote communities, and closing the digital divide. The symposium took stock of countries that have achieved the switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting and explored the technical and regulatory frameworks required to make the transition to digital TV and build a sustainable ecosystem.

Experts from around the world explored the objectives of the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting and took a look at advances in television, such as ultra-high-definition TV (UHDTV), Integrated broadcast-broadband (IBB) systems, and smart TV platforms as well as building a sustainable ecosystem for digital TV in the future and its spectrum requirements. New technologies related to digital broadcasting, including UHDTV, hybrid HbbTV, extended image dynamic range, higher frame rates, and immersive audio, will be demonstrated by leading developers and experts from ATDI, BBC, EBU, Dolby, Fraunhofer, LS telecom, NHK, and others.

VSP - RTVG-JA stärkt die Schweizer Privatradios – June 14 2015
from Jürg Bachmann/VSP

Der Verband Schweizer Privatradios (VSP) und der Verband der Radios Régionales Romandes (RRR) nehmen mit Befriedigung zur Kenntnis, dass die Vorteile des neuen Radio- und TVGesetzes (RTVG) die Mehrheit der Stimmbürgerinnen und Stimmbürger mit einem äusserst knappen Resultat überzeugt haben. Mit dem JA zum neuen RTVG werden die privaten elektronischen Medien in der Schweiz gestärkt; dies bedeutet vor allem für die privaten Radioveranstalter eine verbesserte Ausgangslage für die Herausforderungen der Zukunft.

Der Verband Schweizer Privatradios (VSP) und der Verband der Radios Régionales Romandes(RRR) haben sich im Vorfeld dieser Abstimmung in allen Regionen der Schweiz mit hohemEngagement für die Revision des RTVG eingesetzt. Dies, weil mit diesem neuen Gesetz die Rahmenbedingungen für die privaten Radiostationen gestärkt werden.

Dank dem JA zum neuen RTVG wird die neue Verbreitungstechnologie DAB+ auch für die privaten Radioveranstalter stärker unterstützt. Damit wird die heute bestehende Benachteiligung der privaten Radioveranstalter gegenüber der SRG im Bereich der digitalen Verbreitung ihrer Programme verkleinert. Dank dem JA zum neuen RTVG werden auch die journalistische Grundausbildung und die finanziellen Möglichkeiten bei den bestehenden Veranstaltern mit Gebührenanteil verbessert. VSP und RRR erwarten nun ein baldiges Inkrafttreten des neuen RTVG. Insbesondere zählen sie darauf, dass die schon vorhandenen Gelder für DAB+ möglichst schnell eingesetzt und die Gebührenanteile der privaten Veranstalter gemäss neuem Gesetz rasch erhöht werden.

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