Media&Marketing:Digital terrestrial television (DTT) is coming to Ireland, whether viewers are ready for it or even need it. The EU has decreed that by 2012 consumers will no longer be able to watch their TV using the analogue system. To make the switch to DTT, people who don't subscribe to a cable or satellite service will need to purchase a set-top box and hook it into their television.
About 30 per cent of all households in the Republic still depend on an aerial to watch television. In the new digital terrestrial era, if they don't have a digital box for each TV set in the house, then they'll be cut off. However, DTT does not require a satellite dish or cable connection.
It is anticipated that the Republic will turn off the analogue service in 2009. Digital terrestrial is currently on trial in pilot locations until August 2008, with 29 channels on offer.
However, Steve Baker, broadcast director in media buyer Initiative, is critical of the lack of direction coming from the Government. He said: "There is no sign of any information flow alerting consumers what DTT is all about and the changes it will bring. Make no mistake - digital terrestrial will have a massive impact on consumers and advertisers."
The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland recently began phase two of its DTT consultation process and the agency will invite applications to operate digital "multiplex" packages in the new year. In total, there will be four multiplexes available. Each multiplex operator will be responsible for the technology and programming.
One package has already been gifted to RTÉ. This will carry the RTÉ 1, RTÉ 2, TG4 and TV3 channels and will be free to consumers. The other three multiplex packages will have the capacity to carry between four and six channels each. The applicants will be free to source any content they wish. Licences will be open to international operators and telecom providers, as well as broadcasting firms.
But DTT will be entering a competitive market, with Sky and UPC already offering customers a huge range of channels via satellite dishes and cable. About 700,000 households in the Republic already subscribe to digital satellite or cable/MMDS services from either Sky or UPC (formerly NTL and Chorus).
When DTT eventually happens in the Republic, Sky and UPC will have even more households signed up. This prompts the question of whether there is even a need for DTT when the maximum number of channels it will be able to offer consumers is 24, less if channels are high definition.
Consumers will also probably have to pay a fee to the digital multiplex operators to access the channels they want. They still won't be getting access to as many channels as they would if had they subscribed to Sky or UPC.
This afternoon, at a conference in the Digital Hub in Dublin, international and national experts on digital television will give their views on what the Irish market can learn from the UK experience of digital TV from the perspective of the agency, client, media owner and regulator.
Last week in Britain, the first step in the compulsory switchover from analogue to digital took place when the analogue signal was switched off for good in two towns in Cumbria.
According to Andy Barnes, sales director of Channel 4: "The difference between Ireland and the UK is that in the UK there are a significant number of people who don't want to pay to watch television and don't want Sky. In Ireland, it's the opposite. So the potential universe for DTT in Ireland is going to be much smaller."
For advertisers, the proliferation of TV channels has considerable implications. Says Initiative's Steve Baker: "The days of mass audience viewing that The Late Late Show has enjoyed for years will be over forever, with the exception of one-off special events like big sports occasions or the Eurovision song contest. It could therefore make TV more attractive as an advertising medium to both new brands and those that moved off TV because of rising costs."
Andy Barnes of Channel 4 believes that big brands will lose out as audiences keep fragmenting. "In the old days when there were just three or four channels, all programmes got big audiences and all ads got big audiences. While the cost of advertising on TV will come down, the cost of advertising on programmes that can still attract mass audiences will rise disproportionately."
siobhan@businessplus.ie
