RAI to launch DVB-T2 broadcasts

Italian public broadcaster RAI is set to launch DVB-T2 broadcasts in almost all the provincial capitals with a new dedicated multiplex (number five).

This move follows tests conducted by RAI in Palermo and in Valle d’Aosta. The new DVB-T2 transmitters will serve the regional capitals, while the composition of the new multiplex will include Rai 1 HD, Rai 2 HD, Rai 3 HD and Rai Test 3D.

Rival broadcaster Mediaset has also been conducting DVB-T2 trials, but only in limited areas in order to test the quality of reception and any transmission problems or interference.

Europa 7 HD is the first Italian broadcaster to fully adopt DVB-T2 for its digital TV platform and the only one that markets a digital box (the 7Box HD) that is capable of receiving the DVB-T2 signals.

Italy has mandated DVB-T2 support in receivers from January 1st 2015. Two new labels (Silver T2 and Gold T2) will be introduced for DTT receivers, likely to come to the Italian market already in 2014, with T2 front-end and HEVC decoding capabilities up to 1080p50.

Source: Advanced Television
Date: 6 Feb 2013

DGTVi Recommends introduction of DVB-T2 and HEVC in 2015

The Italian DGTVi association for promoton of terrestrial TV in Italy has recommended to only launch DVB-T2 in Italy once the new HEVC (H265) video compression codec is available. It would be much easier to launch a new digital standard together with a new codec to maximize spectrum efficiency and avoid disrupting the market twice. According to DGTVi It would lead to two new gold and silver T2 labels for receivers in Italy once the first HEVC T2 decoders become available in 2014.

October 15, 2012
Source: DGTVi

Italy to introduce DVB-T2 in 2015

Following the launch of DVB-T2 by commercial broadcaster Europa 7 in 2010, the Italian government has now decided that all all DTT tuners sold in Italy from 2015 onwards must include the DVB-T2 standard, both for stand-alone set tops and for IDTVs. For consumers, there will be a need to buy new tuners, although a number of DVB-T channels will remain on air for some time.

April 24, 2012
Source: Broadband TV News

Italy may auction DTT frequencies
The Italian government is thinking about how it could restructure its Digital Television frequencies in order to boost public revenue reports Chris Forrester.
DTT frequencies are currently assigned without a fee based on criteria set by Italian telecommunications regulator Agcom and the Industry Ministry. But analysts at investment bank Mediabanca suggest that Italy could generate between €1 billion and €1.5 billion if it were to auction the frequencies.
Industry minister Corrado Passera said the current “beauty contest” could be reviewed “considering the sacrifices that we have asked Italian families to make.” He was speaking after a parliamentary session in Rome.
Source: Advanced Television
Item added: 19th December 2011 



Mediaset has 2 million pay-DTT subscribers
In its financial results for the nine month period ending the 30th September the commercial broadcaster Mediaset said that its Mediaset Premium service had over 2 million pay-DTT subscribers.
Although its overall profits and revenue are down in comparison with the same period last year its pay-DTT service, Mediaset Premium, continues to increase its revenues despite the overall market slowdown.
Source: Mediaset press release
Item added: 14th November 2011 



Frequency assignments may cause problems
Italy’s Marche Region has asked for a postponement of the transition to DTT until at least 2012.
The request was made by the Region’s president, Gian Mario Spacca, in a letter addressed to the Minister for Economic Development, Paolo Romani, and to the president of the Communications Authority (AgCom), Corrado Calibre.
The postponement, according to Spacca, is necessary “to avoid serious consequences for local broadcasters and the public that the switch-off (planned for 5th-21st December) would create following the assignment of frequencies which would interfere with neighbouring countries bordering the Adriatic Sea (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania).
The Marche Region had pointed out the problem of uncoordinated frequencies since 2010, asking for the necessary corrections to be made.
Source: Advanced Television
Item added: 6th November 2011


Two new DTT channels for Italy
Two new DTT channels are to launch in Italy this November. They are Radio Capital TV which is set to launch its DTT service on the 11th November and Mediaset TGCom launching on the 28th November.
The Radio Capital TV channel, owned by the Espresso media group, will air music videos, with a special focus on “classics” from the 70s, 80s and 90s.
News channel Mediaset TGCom is a new venture, backed by commercial broadcaster Mediaset, and will carry breaking news every half hour, as well as traditional 10-minute and 30-minute news bulletins. Live programming will be on air from 06:00 to 01:00 daily.
Source: Advanced Television
Item added: 6th November 2011


Eight candidates short listed for Italian DTT auction
A commission named by the Italian government has processed applications for participation in the auction for digital terrestrial television (DTT) frequencies. The short listed companies are as follows: Canale Italia (lots A2 and A3); Telecom Italia Media Broadcasting (lots B1, B2 and C1); Elettronica Industriale (lots B1 and B2); Sky Italia Network (lot A2); Prima TV (lots A2 and A3); Europa Way (lot A1); Elettronica Industriale (lot A2); and Rai Radiotelevisione Italiana (lots B1 and B2).
Source: Telecompaper
Item added: 17th October 2011 




ASO in Liguria
Italy’s Liguria region will be next to switch of analogue transmission and go completely digital between the 10th October and the 4th November. Some problems are expected because of the mountainous terrain which is covered by nearly 3,000 repeaters and 170 towers.
The switch over will effect the cities of Imperia, Savona, Genova and La Spezia.
Source: Telecompaper
More information at: DGTVi
Item added: 10th October 2011



DTT the most widely used platform in Italy
In Italy DTT is watched by 64% of the population making it the most widely used platform. DTH/satellite is used by 17% and analogue by 18.7%. (A study by Studio Frasi based on Nielsen TAM data)
DTT penetration had risen to 84.7% by the end of July 2011 according to market research published by E-Res.
The number of Italian households with at least one DTT receiver in the principal residence rose to about 21 million up by 900,000 units compared with number three months ago. In the last year DTT households have increased by 4 million. Overall, the number of digital boxes in Italian homes reached 36.5 million, a penetration of 74.6% of total TV sets.
The cumulative number of DTT receivers sold in Italy since February 2004 has now reached 52.5 million. Of these, 23.5 million are integrated (44.8% of total) and the remaining 29 million (55.2%) are external.
The study by Studio Frasi based on Nielsen TAM data also reveals that 81.3% of Italians watch TV distributed via digital platforms, representing an annual growth of 27%.
Source: Advanced Television
Item added: 10th October 2011 



Italy raises €3.9 billion in spectrum auction
Italy has raised €3.9 billion in its auction of 4G radio frequencies, more than double the reserve price of € 1.7 billion for 240MHz of spectrum. Vodafone Italia acquired two blocks in the 800MHz band for a total € 992.4 million, as well as one block in the 1800MHz band for € 159.1 million. It also took three lots of FDD spectrum in the 2.6GHz band for € 36.06 million each. Vodafone said it will use the spectrum to launch LTE services, drawing on the experience of its sister company Vodafone Germany, which launched LTE at the end of 2010. Telecom Italia acquired two 800MHz blocks for a total € 992.2 million and one 1800MHz lot for € 159.0 million, plus three lots of FDD spectrum in the 2.6GHz band for a total € 109.1 million. Wind took two blocks in the 800MHz band for a total € 977.7 million, but missed out on the third block in the 1800MHz band, which went to 3 Italia for € 158.9 million. 3 Italia also took the two TDD blocks in the 2.6GHz band for € 74.0 million and two lots of FDD spectrum in the 2.6GHz band for € 72.4 million, giving it a total 60 MHz or 25% percent of all spectrum allocated. The operator said it will start LTE trials in the coming months. Wind also acquired four lots of the FDD spectrum in the 2.6GHz band, for a total € 142.2 million. The operators will gain access to the 1800MHz band by the end of this year, the 2.6GHz band by the end of 2012, and the 800MHz band at the start of 2013, after it's vacated by broadcasters. The licences for both bands run until 2029.
Source: Telecompaper
Item added: 3rd October 2011 




Emilia Romagna region helps DTT transition
Italy's Emilia Romagna region has earmarked EUR 1.8 million for local TV channels switching from analogue to digital terrestrial. The investment is intended at "easing the costs" for the conversion of installations and equipment. The facilitated interventions must be completed no later than the 31st December. However admissible costs can have occurred between the 1st January 2010 and the 31st December 2011. The funds will go to projects costing from EUR 60,000 to EUR 150,000.
Source: Telecompaper
Item added: 19th September 2011 



Ten in running for DTT multiplexes
A total of ten companies have submitted applications to Italy’s Communications Authority (AgCom) to take part in the procedure for the award of the rights to six digital terrestrial television (DTT) multiplexes reports advanced-television.com. Five of the frequencies are for DVB-T and one is for DVB-H.
The companies applying for the multiplexes are Canale Italia, Telecom Italia Media Broadcasting, Elettronica Industriale (part of the Mediaset group), Sky Italia Network Service, Prima TV, Europa Way, 3lettronica Industriale (part of the 3 Italia group), Rai, Tivuitalia and Dbox.
The Evaluation Committee will look through the applications and by following a specific procedure, decided which companies will be allowed to bid for the multiplexes.
Existing terrestrial broadcasters (Rai, Mediaset, Telecom Italia Media) can compete for up to two multiplexes, while Sky Italia will be able to compete for only one multiplex and will not be able to offer pay-TV
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 13th September 2011



DTT dominates in France, Italy and Spain
A recent DTT market released by NPA Conseil, has found that digital terrestrial television dominates the market in France, Italy and Spain.
In these countries, DTT has a coverage rate of 90%, 81% and 98% respectively and has a penetration rate of 62% in France, 71% in Italy and 79% in Spain.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 13th September 2011 



Initial bids for 4G frequencies total EUR 2.3 billion
The initial bids for the use of the 4G frequencies (800, 1800, 2000 and 2600 MHz bands) in Italy reached EUR 2.3 billion. The bids from the four major mobile operators, Telecom Italia, Vodafone Italia, Wind and 3 Italia, were opened on the 30th August at the Ministry of Economic Development. These bids set the starting point for the actual auction which took place on the 31st August.
Source: Telecompaper
Item added: 5th September 2011 




Umbria analogue TV switch-off put back to the 2nd December
Italy's Ministry of Economic Development has delayed this year’s switchover from analogue to DTT in the Umbria region from the 3rd November to 2nd December.
This was established by a decree from the Minister published in the Official Gazzette on the 10th August. The switchover will take place in Tuscany and the provinces of La Spezia and Viterbo at the same time, while the Marche region will follow during the 5th to 21st December.
Source: Telecompaper
Item added: 22nd August 2011 



5 bidders want mobile spectrum
A total of five companies submitted applications for participation in the auction of radio frequency rights in the 800 (digital dividend), 1800, 2000 and 2600 MHz bands in Italy, according to the Ministry of Economic Development. They are Linkem, 3 Italia, Vodafone Italia, Telecom Italia and Wind. The ministry will publish a list of approved bidders by the 29th July. The approved companies will then have 30 days to submit their bids (no later than the 29th August). The bids will be opened in a public session scheduled for the 30th August.
Source: Telecompaper
Item added: 1st August 2011 



Tivuitalia gets go ahead for 44 new DTT transmitters
The Italian Media Company Tivuitalia has received approval from the country’s Ministry of Economic Development to operate 44 new DTT transmitters. The new transmitters located in Northern Italy and Sardinia represent a 30% increase in the number of sites already operated by the company. The company also expects to obtain further approvals to launch a similar number of transmitters in Central and Southern Italy in the next few weeks.
Last month, the Ministry authorised Tivuitalia to broadcast TV content in DTT mode, but denied it the status of a national network operator. The company is preparing an appeal against the decision.
The company submitted a request for a DTT multiplex operator in February 2010 and subsequently, on 21 May 2010, announced its DTT coverage exceeded 50 per cent of the population.
Source: Advanced Television
Item added: 24th July 2011 



DTT auction for 6 DTT multiplexes
Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset has completed tests of the High Definition versions of its three terrestrial TV channels and has switched off transmissions following the announcement of the auction for the allocation of TV frequencies; vacated by analogue services with the switchover to DTT.
Mediaset and Telecom Italia Media Broadcasting (TIMB) had previously been assigned two multiplexes for experimental purposes.
Italy’s Ministry for Economic Development recently published, on its website, the announcement for the free allocation of six digital multiplexes to both existing and new players on the market, including Sky Italia.
The change means that the transmissions of Canale 5 HD, Italia 1 HD and Rete 4 +1 are no longer available, while the Canale 5+1 and Italia 1 +1 channels have been transferred to the Mediaset 5 multiplex.
At the same time, the TIMB HD channels are no longer transmitted on TIMB 4, but continue to broadcast on multiplex TIMB 2, which remained empty after the closure of pay-TV platform Dahlia. The HD package includes La7 HD, La7d HD, and MTV HD, while MTV Music HD has stopped broadcasting.
Source: Advanced Television
Item added: 17th July 2011 



Città Digitali broadcast 3D on DTT
Città Digitali became Italy’s second TV channel to broadcast in 3D on the occasion of the European Digital Television Forum held recently in Lucca.
Città Digitali broadcast part of its programming free-to-air in 3D, offering content related to art, architecture, cultural heritage, environment, leisure and regional food and wine.
The 3D Tile Format used, allows the integration of two frames of 720 lines in a single frame with 1,080 lines. The left and right reconstructed images retain their original resolution, avoiding an imbalance of vertical or horizontal resolution. In this way the quality of the transmission of HD 3D content compared to current solutions (Side-by-Side or Top-Bottom) is said to be significantly improved.
The project in Italy’s Tuscany region follows a similar one in Piedmont, dating back to December 2010.
Source: Advanced Television
Item added: 27th June 2011



More 3D on DTT
Telecom Italia Media Broadcast (TIMB) has launched Italy’s first HD DTT service carrying live 3D content. The service is carried through the LA7 channel and uses Thomson Video Networks ViBE EM3000 equipment.
Source: Advanced Television
Item added: 27th June 2011 



Italia 2 launch on the 2nd July
The new free to air TV programme service Italia 2 will be launched on the 2nd July. Commercial broadcaster Mediaset has confirmed the launch of the DTT channel which will target a young male audience aged 15-35 years with a programmes schedule which relies heavily on American television series.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 6th June 2011 



DTT penetration reaches 82%
Since the beginning of 2011, more than 2.8 million DTT receivers have been sold in Italy.
The break down is as follows:
STB’s 1,079,122
  MHP 158,605
  Zapper 920,517
IDTV’s 1,736,593
According to research published by E-Res at the end of March, the number of Italian households equipped to receive DTT (at least one receiver in the primary residence) rose to 20.43 million, an increase of 220,000 units compared to February and approx. 945,000 since the beginning of 2011.
DTT penetration now stands at 82 % of Italian households.
Since the launch of DTT services in 2004, 49.78 million DTT receivers have been sold in Italy.
Sources: advanced-television.com and Digitaltvnews.net
Item added: 23rd May 2011



Six new DTT multiplexes after ASO
A total of six new DTT multiplexes will become available after Italy completes its analogue switch off programme.
Licences for these new DTT slots are expected to come out for tender in June. Existing Italian media groups and broadcasters as well as foreign media groups such as Liberty Media, Virgin and RTL are expected to be interested in the licences.
The tender process will begin after the European Commission provides its approval on the draft regulations submitted to it by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 3rd May 2011 



Mediaset reports €700 million From DTT
In Mediaset's end of year report for 2010, the DTT service Mediaset Premium is shown as generating €700 million during the year. This is an increase in revenues of 24.9% compared with 2009.
Further revenue growth is expected for Mediaset Premium in 2011.
Source: Mediaset website
Item added: 28th March 2012  



Mediaset likes MHP
Angelo Pettazzi, Head of DTT Content Factory at Mediaset told the Future TV Advertising Forum audience last month that “MHP is a fantastic tool and absolutely, you can match the experience from a company like Yahoo!”.
Italian broadcasters have thrown their weight behind the DGTVi initiative that has created the ‘Gold Label’ certification programme for HBB receivers based on MHP. This is not only aimed at the set-top box market but integrated digital TVs (iDTV), which means Gold Label connected TVs will play an important role in the Italian market. Mediaset points out that Samsung, LG, Philips and Vestel have all agreed to implement Gold Label features for all their 2011 iDTV products that feature an Ethernet connection. Panasonic and Sony have committed to at least half of their 2011 iDTV line-up with Ethernet connections having the ‘Gold Label’.
Pettazzi has been arguing the case for MHP as an open and interoperable standard for HBB, amidst concerns that the proliferation of proprietary connected TV solutions is forcing content providers to build the same application multiple times to suit different platforms. He agreed with an audience member that the fragmentation of HBB between different platforms in Europe is creating a “mess”. However, he pointed out that every country has different requirements.
Source: Videonet
Item added: 31st January 2011  



Motive TV to test 3D over DTT
Motive Television has announced the launch of a 3D on-demand service over Mediaset’s DTT network using its Bestv software.
The service, 3VOD, delivers 3D on-demand content over the air to non-connected set-tops using spare terrestrial capacity.
Source: Digital TV Europe.net
Item added: 12th January 2011  



ASO to be brought forward
Italy’s Communications Authority (AgCom) has sent a recommendation to the Ministry of Economic Development, proposing to advance the analogue switch-off date to the end of 2011, according to Advanced Television. The comment is attributed to AgCom Commissioner, Roberto Napoli and was made on the sidelines of a recent DTT conference in Rome. ASO would be brought forward in Liguria, Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Abruzzo and Molise to the first half of 2011 and in Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily to the second half of the year. Napoli added that bringing forward ASO would also make possible the early auction of the analogue frequencies vacated in the 800 MHz frequency band.
AgCom also seems inclined not to exclude DTH operator Sky Italia from participation in the tender that will allocate six digital multiplexes to new players on the market, according to rumours in the Italian press.
Source: Advanced Television
Item added: 20th December 2010



Cubovision for DTT and broadband access
Telecom Italia has launched a hybrid set-top box, called Cubovision, combining digital terrestrial television with broadband access. The unit will give viewers access to all Italian DTT channels, including the various premium channels. The additional broadband connection gives customers access to the Cubovision portal from Telecom Italia, which offers 1,500 hours of regularly-updated programming spanning over 200 TV series, cartoons, documentaries, concerts and movies. The box also brings “the best of WebTV”, including Telecom Italia’s La7.tv, directly to home TV screens according to the item.
The Cubovision service is also accessible from the latest generation of connected Samsung Smart TVs and is planned to be accessed by tablets and smartphones with the appropriate downloaded application.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 20th December 2010    




Free to air 3D HDTV broadcasts over DTT
A cooperative group based in Piedmont, Italy, has announced the first 3D HDTV broadcasts, free-to-air, with a system for backwards compatibility with 2D TV sets, reports Advanced Television.
The transmissions are made possible by a partnership between public and private bodies operating in the area, including Sisvel, Quartarete TV and CSP Innovazione nelle ICT.
With the start of digital terrestrial TV 3D broadcasts within the Quartarete TV DTT multiplex, Piedmont also becomes the first region in Italy to broadcast free-to-air, backward compatible 3D TV content, allowing those with HD TV sets to watch 2D HDTV, even when the transmissions use 3D techniques.
The 3D service uses the 3D Tile Format which makes it possible to transmit two 720p frames within a single 1080p frame. The reconstructed right and left images maintain their original resolution, preventing an unbalancing of the vertical or horizontal resolution.
The system is said to improve the quality of the transmission of 3D HD content, compared to current solutions (Side-by-Side or Top-and-Bottom) and, due to its backwards compatibility, allows broadcasters to transmit to both 2D and 3D users without having to double the amount of bandwidth required for transmissions.
Source: Advanced Television
Item added: 6th December 2010  



DTT receivers sold reach 40 million
The recent DGTVi newsletter states that DTT penetration in Italy has reached 72% of households, with 40 million DTT receivers sold since the launch of services in early 2004.
During September a total of 1.2 million DTT receivers were sold of which approximately 50% were iDTVs, 40% standard STB’s and another 10% MHP enabled STB’s.
Analogue Switch Off (ASO) for another 12 million Italians in eastern Piedmont, Lombardy and the province of Parma and Piacenza took place on the 25th and 26th November.
The Emilia Romagna area will follow with its ASO between the 27th November and the 2nd December and then by Friuli Venezia Giulia between the 3rd and 15th December. The switch over to DTT for this final 2 million households will complete the ASO in Italy.
Source: DGTVi website
Item added: 29th November 2010  



Premium Pay-DTT card sales increase
Mediaset the Italian commercial broadcasting group has just issued its earnings report for the first 9 months of 2010 which show that revenues from the sale of Pay-DTT cards, re-charges and Easy Pay subscriptions amounted to EUR 342.5 million, an increase of 61.4% on the EUR 212.2 million at the 30th September 2009.
The number of active cards on the 30th September 2009 was around 3.3 million, compared with around 2.9 million for the same period of the previous year. By the 4th November 2010, the total number of active cards had reached 3.6 million.
Source: Mediaset website
Item added: 15th November 2010



Antena 3 offered in HD on DTT
Antenna 3 has announced that it will launch an HD version of its channel on the 28th September 2010.
Grupo Planeta’s national private TV channel Antena 3 will continue to be broadcast on the DTT platform in SD as well as HD.
This launch follows that of Mediaset’s Telecino HDTV channel and will soon be followed by regular HD transmissions from Televisión Española (TVE) in early 2011.
Source: Rapid TV News
Item added: 27th September 2010  



ASO could be in 2011
Corrado Calabro, the president of Italy’s telecommunications sector regulator, says that the analogue transition could be completed by 2011, in a recent AgCom report. The report says that there are already six “all digital” regions in Italy and the digitisation of Northern Italy should be completed this year. In 2011 the ASO will occur in the Adriatic coastal region and in 2012 Tuscany, Umbria, Sicily and Calabria will complete the transition. According to Calabro’, "with an effort, the digitalisation could be completed by 2011, as requested in a recent European recommendation.''
AgCom also recently approved a new frequency plan according to advanced-television.com. The plan frees resources for national TV (with 5 new digital multiplexes which will be awarded via a "beauty contest"), for High Definition, for local TV (with at least 13 multiplexes, corresponding to 65 local channels for each region), for radio, and also frees up nine TV channels to be allocated to wireless broadband access.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 12th July 2010  



Solaris wins more EU-licences for DVB-SH service
Solaris Mobile now has licences for their DVB-SH (Satellite to Handheld) service in several countries including France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Finland.
Solaris is a joint venture owned by SES Astra and Eutelsat, set up to deliver mobile TV, satellite digital radio and mobile broadband to much of Europe.
An 18 year licence to operate Mobile Services in France, Sweden and Germany was awarded in May 2010, which, together with those already awarded for Finland, Luxembourg, Italy and Slovenia brings the total to seven.
These licences allow Solaris Mobile’s hybrid network to be deployed within the EU and will pave the way for a range of broadcast and broadband services including TV, radio, voice, data and other broadband services to mobile devices.
Steve Maine, CEO of Solaris is reported as saying that “In the coming months, Solaris Mobile will be engaged in setting up additional demonstration trial platforms for TV broadcasting, radio and data services in certain other markets. These activities will demonstrate the benefits of the solution offered by Solaris which include immediate satellite coverage of the area opening up new opportunities to deliver next generation broadband and broadcast services to mobile devices”.
Source: Rapid TV News 2010
Item added: 21st June 2010  



Tivuitalia to become a nationwide DTT Multiplex operator
Tivuitalia SPA, a company fully owned by Screen Service Broadcasting Technologies SPA, is set to become a nationwide DTT multiplex operator following the filing of its intention to do so with the Department Notifications of the Ministry of Economic Development.
Tivuitalia is already licensed for local broadcasting and has been acquiring transmission facilities. Its current coverage is around 57% of the population and its plan is to extent this to 90% now that it has filed its intention to do so.
Source: SSBT website
Item added: 31st May 2010


Europa 7 HD to launch DVB-T2 services in June
The commercial broadcaster Europa 7 has announced its plans to launch DTT HD services using the DVB-T2 standard on VHF Band III.
Europa 7 will make its DTT set-top box, 7 Box HD, available to viewers during June and in time for the new service launch. The Box will allow viewers to access 8 pay HD television services and they will be sold by retailers throughout Italy.
Conax encryption will be used to secure the new services.
Source: Europa 7 HD website and Broadband TV News
Item added: 31st May 2010  



Mediaset announces further free to air DTT services
Mediaset has announced the launch of La5 a new free-to-air television programme service on the DTT platform.
La5 is an entertainment service targeted at female viewers and officially launches on the 12th May at 21.10hr.
Mediaset is also planning to launch a new television programme service targeting young male viewers, tentatively called Italia2, and a continuous news service by the end of the year.
Source: Mediaset announcement
Item added: 17th May 2010  



Mediaset and Telecom Italia plan new DTT services
Mediaset and Telecom Italia, have both announced plans to launch new services on the DTT platform and Mediaset new receiving equipments to make more use of it.
According to reports Mediaset plans to launch a DTT receiver that can combine the functionality of the Internet (over-the-top TV) and DTT. This receiver is planned for launch by the end of the year and will be completely independent from current telecom offerings.
In addition, Mediaset will launch an HD receiver for the reception of its Premium on Demand HD service on the DTT platform. The service is expected to be made available in July
Telecom Italia Media is planning to launch two new services on the DTT platform, MTV+ (a television programme service that will offer music and entertainment) and La7 (an on demand service that will offer catch-up television services using a broadband connection) Both services will be available by the end of May.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 10th May 2010



ASO may be completed in 2011
Paolo Romani, the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, has said that bringing forward the countries Analogue Switch Off (ASO) date to 2011 instead of 2012 might be possible.
Romani would like the regions that will complete the process in 2012 (Tuscany, Umbria, Sicily and Calabria) to do so in 2011 and said that he will speak to the presidents of these regions to determine whether or not this would be possible.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 10th May 2010  



RAI to make World Cup available on DTT HD
Public service broadcaster RAI is planning to make its coverage of the FIFA 2010 World Cup available in HD on the DTT platform.
The HD transmissions will be available on Multiplex 4.
Mediaset has also released news of the intended launch a new HD/DTT receiver for its On Demand service. The receiver will allow Mediaset to distribute HD content directly to the receivers at night for local storage.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 18th April 2010  



Mediaset increases revenue and adds more DTT services
Mediaset Premium has announced a 38.9% increase in its 2009 earnings for its Pay-DTT TV platform. The platform generated a total revenue of €560.6 million compared with its 2008 result of €403.7 million. By the 31st December the number of active pay-TV cards reached 3.7 million up from 2.9 million at the end of 2008.
Mediaset has also announced that it will launch three new TV services on the DTT platform at the end of the year.
The three services will be a youth version of the existing Italia 1, which will be designated Italia 2, a continuous news service and La5 which will provide a combination of programmes from Canale 5, Italia 1 and Rete 4.
Main sources: Mediaset announcement and advanced-television.com
Item added: 29th March 2010


Two out of three households use DTT
According to figures in the February edition of the DGTVi newsletter, 2 out of 3 households access DTT services.
The research from Makno gives the number of households which rely on the DTT platform on at least one TV as 15.3 million, compared with 7.8 million at the end of 2008.
In total 28.9 million DTT receivers have been sold since the launch of DTT in February 2004.
The strongest month for sales was December 2009 with 2.9 million DTT receivers sold, 62% of which were set top boxes and 38% iDTVs.
Source: DGTVi newsletter
Item added: 1st March 2010  




23 million residents to complete ASO in 2010
A total of 23 million residents will be affected by the analogue switch-off which takes place in Italy during 2010. The switch off begins on the 12th May when two analogue channels (RAI Due and Retequattro) are turned off in Lombardy, eastern Piedmont, Parma and Piacenza, affecting a total of 5 million households.
To help with the changeover process the Analogue Switch-off Taskforce is launching an analogue switch-off communications campaign on the 12th April and a government backed DTT helpline as well as support for qualifying households.
Source: DigiTAG and DGTVi newsletter
Item added: 1st March 2010  



ASO delay confirmed
The expected delay in the analogue switch off has been confirmed and the reasons given are to avoid disruptions to viewers watching the World Cup and the fact that regional elections are taking place in early 2010.
In the revised timetable, the first phase of analogue switch-off (channels RAI 2 and RETE 4) will take place on the 18th May in Lombardy (including Milan), Piedmont, and Emilia Romagna.
National ASO will be completed between the 15th of September and the 20th October in Lombardy and Piedmont, between the 21st October and the 25th November in Emilia Romagna, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia, and between the 26th November and 20th December in Liguria.
Source: DGTVi website
Item added: 25th January 2010  



DTT accessed by 20.7 million TV households
Figures published in the December DIGITA newsletter from DGTV say that at the end of September 2009, DTT penetration had reached 65%.
By November 20.7 million households’ accessed DTT services on at least one TV set and those relying on the DTT platform for their primary TV service had reached 13.8 million. This is an increase of 962,000 on the September09 figures.
Since the launch of DTT services in 2004, 23.4 million DTT receivers have been sold.
Source: DIGITA December09 newsletter
Item added: 18th January 2010  



Delays to ASO plan expected
The existing ASO plan for Italy is likely to be disrupted by the timing of the World Cup programme and regional elections according to media reports.
As a result of these activities the two-phased analogue switch-off timetable currently set for the regions of Lombardia, eastern Piedmont, Emilia-Romagnia, Veneto, Liguria, and Friulia Venezia is expected to slip.
A final decision on any delay will be made by the CNID (National Committee for Digital Italy) on the 20th January.
Following a completion of the ASO process in 2012 five new national channels will be available on the DTT platform. Three of these channels are reserved for new broadcasters while the existing broadcasters (RAI, Mediaset, Telecom Italia) can apply for the 2 remaining channels.
Sources: Il Sole 24 Ore and Broadband TV News
Item added: 5th January 2010 


DVB-H mobile TV continues to grow
Analysts believe that by 2015 there will be 5.1 million people in Italy using their mobile phones to view TV content, of which 2.5 million will be using DVB-H services.
In this recent survey by media research company Coda, the 2010 World Cup, in which Italy compete as defending champions, is expected to be a major stimulus to the predicted growth.
Main source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 30th November 2009 



Sigismondi predicts 25-30% MHP TV’s next year
At the recent DigiTag annual public seminar in Geneva Mediaset’s Alberto Sigismondi said that between 25-30% of TV sets sold next year in Italy are likely to be MHP-enabled. The figure is likely to rise to between 50-60% in 2011.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 23rd November 2009 



Rome is Digital TV only
Today, the 16th November, Rome will complete the switch off of all analogue terrestrial transmitters and go completely DTT.
The switch-off began across the Lazio region earlier this year. TV channels Rai Due and Rete 4 have only been available over digital terrestrial since 16 June 2009. All analogue transmitters will be switched off across Lazio between the 16th and 30th November 2009.
To help with the transition to DTT the government has been making a receiver purchase subsidy of €50 available to over 65’s who have an annual income of less than €10,000 a year,
Source: Wanted in Rome
Item added: 16th November 2009



Mediaset Premium revenues up 63.6%
Mediaset are reporting that the DTT platform has been a success with revenues from Mediaset Premium “significantly mitigating the reduction in margins caused by the down turn in the Italian advertising market”
Full story: Broadband TV News
Item added: 16th November 2009



News Corp opening FTA DTT channel
News Corp are to launch a free to air channel on the DTT platform called Cielo (Sky in Italian). It will start broadcasting on the 1st December using third party leased bandwidth giving it a projected coverage of 12 million families.
Source: Le Figaro
Item added: 16th November 2009



Turin and Cuneo join switch over
Analogue to digital television switchover took place on the 7th of October in the towns of Turin, Cuneo and their surrounding provinces. The transition is reported to have taken place without major problems.
Source: dgtv
Item added: 2nd November 2009



Sky Italia to launch Digital Key for DTT
DTH operator Sky Italia has announced that it will launch a novel Digital Key in December. The USB key when connected to a Sky HD or a My Sky HD satellite box will enable viewers to watch Digital Terrestrial channels on the DTT platform.
Sky Italia say that the key will remove the current need for multiple decoders that are/will be necessary when the analogue terrestrial transmissions change to digital by 2012. The Digital Key will integrate the programming of the DTT channels in Sky’s EPG, allowing viewers to zap across the entire digital TV offer without changing the remote.
Source: advanced-television.com
Items added: 26th October 2009



DTT Households reach 11.13 million
According to figures in the September DIGITA newsletter the number of terrestrial households relying on DTT for their primary TV viewing at the end of July was 11.13 million. This is an increase of 656,000 in a single month. During the month of July 1.1 million DTT receivers were sold of which 52% were STB’s and 48% were iDTV’s.
Since the launch of DTT services nearly 18 million DTT receivers have been sold.
Off this total 56.2% were STB’s and 43.8% were iDTV’s.
Source: DIGITA newsletter
Item added: 12th October 2009



Broadband connectivity added to HDTV specs
The Italian digital television association DGTVi has added broadband connectivity to its specifications for HDTV receivers.
The Broadband Addendum to the HD Book DTT 1.0 has been added so that provision to access media content over broadband IP is made available, although it is expected that most of the content delivered in this way will be for on demand services.
Minimum specifications have been based on the work of the Open IPTV Forum and its R1 specification. H.264/AVC video up to 1080i25, Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus audio, MHP, EBU Teletext over DVB streams and DVB subtitling are all mandated.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 12th October 2009



DTT penetration at 41%
DGTVi reports in their latest newsletter that at the end of April, 8.7 million TV households relied on the DTT platform for their primary TV viewing, 41% of the population.
In April a total of 538,000 DTT receivers were sold, bringing the total sold, since the launch of DTT services in 2004, to 14.6 million.
Source: DGTVi news letter
Item added: 13th July 2009




Free to view satellite programmes in Italy
A free to view satellite service called Tivù Sat is expected to launch on 31st July 2009. The platform will offer viewers access to programmes already available on the DTT platform.
Currently DTT services are available to 85% of the population.
It is also expected that HD services will be made available from the satellite but it is not known if these will be free to view or encrypted.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 6th July 2009




Rome completes first phase ASO
The first phase of Analogue Switch Off (ASO) has been completed in Rome and the surrounding area with the switch of Raidue and Retequattro. All analogue services will be switched off during November. These changes affect over 4 million viewers.
It is estimated that 70% of households can already receive Digital services, 50% of which rely exclusively on the DTT platform.
Source: DGTVi Per la Televisione Digitale Terrestre
Item added: 22nd June 2009




8.4 Million exclusive DTT households
According to the May issue of DIGITA 8,393,000 households have at least one DTT receiver. (Data from Makno March 2009). In the overall number of DTT receivers in households reached 10,186,000 by the same time.
The total of DTT receivers sold since launch has also reached a new high of 13,923,000 by the end of March 2009. During the month of March, a total of 511,000 DTT receivers were sold, of which 362,000 (71%) were iDTV's and 149,000 (29%) were set-top boxes.
Analogue TV is still watched by 42% of households. DTT is used by 31% of households followed by satellite, which is used by 27% of households
Source: DGTVi newsletter
Item added: 15th June 2009




RAI invests further in DTT
RAI has announced that it will invest 700-750 million Euro in DTT by 2012. The transmission structure will benefit by 290 million Euros and around 100 million will be invested in content.
Commercial broadcaster Mediaset has also announced plans to spend a further 1 billion Euro to complete the switch from analogue to digital transmission and also to increase its coverage.
Viewers outside the DTT coverage area will also be able to access the new DTT services from RAI, Mediaset, and Telecom Italia via satellite from June when the Tivu Sat free-to-air satellite platform becomes available
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 25th May 2009




Partial ASO in Western Piedmont
On the 20th May two analogue channels, Rai 2 and Retequattro will be switched off in Western Piedmont. This change will affect 2.9 million residents in the Turin, Cuneo and Asti regions. The final analogue switch of for the remaining channels will take place between the 24th September and the 9th October.
The switch of has been publicised widely since the 30th April, through a communications campaign led by the Consortium Piedmont DTT, which comprises of local broadcasters with support from the Ministry of Economic Development.
Viewers aged over 65 and with an income of less than €10,000 per year can qualify for a €50 coupon to use towards the purchase of an interactive DTT receiver.
Analogue switch off in Italy is planned to be completed by 2012.
Source: DGTVi website
Item added: 18th May 2009




DTT penetration reaches 38%
According to figures published by DGTVi, 8.1 million television households rely on the DTT platform. This represents a penetration of 38%.
These figures also show that in the past year, 2.7 million households adopted the DTT platform.
At the end of February 2009, 9.84 million households were equipped with a DTT receiver. This represents an increase of 3.9 million compared with February 2008.
Source: DGTVi newsletter . Translation and item thanks to Digitag
Item added: 27th April 2009




Digital Switch Over criteria issued
The Italian regulator AGCOM has released more details of its digital switchover plan.
Five new multiplexes will be made available after ASO completes in 2012.
The five new multiplexes join the three that are already operating.
Three of the new multiplexes will be reserved for new entrants to the market according to the plan drawn up in consultation with the European Commission.
Some of the additional spectrum needed will be made available by the use of Single Frequency Networks instead of using different frequencies for different parts of the country.
Competition rules have also been strengthened to prevent the domination of the DTT market by big companies.
The full details of the new rules can be accessed on the Agcom website at the following link. L’AGCOM approva i criteri per la completa digitalizzazione delle reti televisive nazionali
Item added: 13th April 2009



Sale of TV sets without DTT decoders ends
A law passed in 2007 means that any TV sets on sale in Italy from the 3rd April 2009 must have integrated DTT decoders. All models with integrated DTT decoders compatible for the reception of Italian free to air and Pay TV services must have a white DGTVi stamp.
By the 20th of May a partial switch over to digital TV will have taken place in Western Piedmont ( Turin and Cuneo) when the two national TV channels Rai Due and Rete 4 will only be available as DTT signals. The partial switchover continues in the regions of Lazio on the 16th June and Campania on the 10th September.
Viewers in Italy currently have access to 27 free to air channels on DTT plus additional pay TV channels compared with 9 analogue channels.
Source: advanced television.com
Item added: 7th April 2009




Over 500 channels available on DTT platforms in Europe
Recent data from the MAVISE TV database, developed for the DG Communication of the European Commission by the European Audiovisual Observatory, shows the continued expansion of television channels in the European (EU 27 + Croatia and Turkey) television market. More than 200 new TV channels were launched in 2008. There are now a total of 5587 channels (plus 412 non-European channels) available in the 29 countries.
Digital terrestrial television (DTT) has experienced significant developments in the last year.
Six of the 29 countries included in the MAVISE database have already ceased analogue terrestrial transmission.
France, Italy, Spain and the UK (four markets with large use of terrestrial television) have reached very high levels of DTT penetration in households and two of these have started regional switch-off of the analogue signals
The market will see more rapid development this year with the expected launch of new services in Slovenia, Denmark, Portugal, Ireland, Poland, Greece, and Slovakia. Full article at: EAO press release
Item added: 7th April 2009



Strong growth for Pay DTT service
The Pay TV service Mediaset Premium increased its revenue by 78.7 % compared with the previous year according to Mediaset’s report for 2008.
Mediaset Premium generated revenues of EUR 403.7 million, up from EUR 225.9 million in 2007.
As of 31 December 2008, active cards amounted to around 2.9 million, compared with 2.1 million in the previous year
Source: Mediaset Press Release
Item added: 23rd March 2009



First DVB-T2 Plug Fest completed successfully
The DVB-T2 Validation and Verification (V&V) group, coordinated by the Technical Module TM-T2 working group, completed a very successful Plug Fest at the RAI Research Centre in Turin during early March.
DVB-T2, currently available as DVB BlueBook A122r1, will be published as a formal standard by ETSI later this year. The aim of the Plug Fest was to validate the DVB-T2 specification through the interoperability of independent hardware implementations.
Equipments tested comprised of 6 DVB-T2 Modulators (DekTek, Rhode&Schwarz, ENENSYS Technologies, TeamCast, BBC, SSBT) and 5 Demodulators (DekTec, SIDSA, Panasonic, Sony, BBC)
The seven DVB-T2 transmission modes recommended by the UK regulator Ofcom for Britain’s DVB-T2 broadcasts were tested as well as more complex modes, such as those involving multiple PLPs.
RAI is currently transmitting test DVB-T2 signals from a tower 5km distant from the RAI Research Centre.
Source: DVB
Item added: 23rd March 2009



37% DTT penetration
According to figures published by DGTVi, 7.8 million television households relied on the DTT platform for their primary television services at the end of 2008. This represents 37% of all television households.
The sale of DTT receivers proved strong in 2008 with 5 million receivers sold. In the month of December, 884,000 receivers were sold, of which 77% were iDTVs.
Altogether a total of 12.2 million DTT receivers have been sold since the launch of DTT services in 2004.
Item and translation thanks to DigiTag
Original attributed source: DGTVi newsletter
Item added: 2nd March 2009



Turin DVB-SH trial a success
The first extensive DVB-SH trial launched in Turin has been declared a success by the four main participants, the public broadcaster RAI, mobile operator 3 Italia, Alcatel-Lucent and Eutelsat.
Initial results from the trial have demonstrated the high reception performances of the new technology for mobile TV on commercial terminals.
When fully integrated the DVB-SH mobile solution will capture mobile TV signals both from satellite and terrestrial networks.
The trial was overseen by the RAI Research & Innovation Centre with 3 Italia and Alcatel-Lucent providing the DVB-SH transmission equipment, network integration and technical support.
Eutelsat provided the satellite capacity for content distribution, as well as uplink facilities.
The first phase of this trial confirmed the capability of DVB-SH technology to integrate terrestrial broadcast networks with 3G mobile networks and to make available a large number of high-quality mobile TV channels, under various usage conditions.
The second phase of the trial, will take place after the successful launch of Eutelsat’s W2A satellite in March 2009.
W2A will carry an S-band payload managed by Solaris Mobile (a joint venture of Eutelsat and SES Astra), with full DVB-SH capabilities enabling the integration of the satellite and terrestrial network infrastructure in a real business situation.
A sample panel of users with commercial DVB-SH handsets and in-car devices will become part of the first large-scale demonstration of DVB-SH mobile broadcasting in Europe. Furthermore, high and very-high power DVB-SH terrestrial transmission equipment will be added to the network.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added 23rd February 2009


Pay-DTT for Airplus
The Airplus TV Group is to take over the pay-DTT activities of Telecom Italia Media, known as La7 Cartapiu according to advanced-television.com.
Airplus TV will launch its pay-DTT services, known as Dahlia TV, on the7th March and will offer five thematic television programme services dedicated to sports, travel, extreme travel, science, and adult content.
It inherits the television sporting rights previously owned by Telecom Italia and it is expected that viewers will be offered access to a basic and premium package. Services will be available to 85% of the population.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added 23rd February 2009




Revised ASO plan announced
The Ministry of Communications has issued a revised schedule for the switch off of analogue services during 2009 which includes some delays.
In total five regions will switch off analogue services during 2009.
The new dates for ASO are from the 24th September to the 9th October in western Piedmont and from the 26th October to the 13th November in the Bolzano area.
This will be followed by switch-off in Lazio from 16 to 30 November and in Campania from 1 to 16 December. Switch-off in these two regions will affect the millions of television viewers located in the cities of Rome and Naples.
Analogue switch-off has already been completed in Sardinia and is currently underway in the Valle d'Aosta.
At the end of 2008, a total of 7.6 million households relied upon the DTT platform for their television services, representing 34% of the population.
The Ministry of Communications plans to complete the switch of in all regions including Sicily and Calabria by the second half of 2012
Main source: Reuters
Item added: 26th January 2009




Espresso Group plans 12 new channels
Italy’s Espresso Group plans to launch 12 thematic channels on the Italian DTT platform.
The group already operates one DTT multiplex, which provides coverage to 50% of the country and carries the All Music, Repubblica TV, France 2 TV and several radio stations. To increase the range of channels available the Espresso Group now plans to transform the national analogue frequency used by All Music into a DTT multiplex carrying another 5-6 TV channels.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 29th December 2008



RAI launches DVB-T2 HDTV trial
Italian public broadcaster RAI has initiated the first Super High Definition transmissions using the new DVB-T2 standard for DTT from its Eremo Broadcasting Centre in Turin.
DVB-T2 offers between 30-50% increased capacity gain compared with the DVB-T standard.
The Super High Definition 4k channel will occupy most of the bit capacity of the DVB-T2, 8MHz channel and is expected to become available on the market in about ten years time.
Last September, RAI, together with Japan’s NHK and the UK’s BBC, won the "IBC Special Award" for the Super High Vision (SHV) project.
Source: Advanced Television.com
Item added: 22nd December 2008



Italian digital dividend to be auctioned
Italian Communications Undersecretary, Paolo Romani, has announced that the frequencies vacated during the analogue switch off will be auctioned off, reports Broadband TV News.
The statement came during an interview with Italian daily Corriere delle Comunicazioni, Romani in which he said that an auction will be organised both for the frequencies vacated in Sardinia as well as for those that will emerge as DTT is rolled out across the country.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 16th December 2008



More than 10 million DTT boxes sold in Italy
The number of DTT STB’s sold since 2004 reached 10 million in September 2008 according to data published by DGTVI.
Italian households with at least one DTT receiver in the main habitation reached 6.9 million.
Source: Advanced-television.com
Item added: 1st December 2008



Mediaset increases Pay-DTT growth
Mediaset Premium, the Pay-DTT service from Mediaset, reports an 89% increase in revenue this year compared with the same period in 2007.
Mediaset says that 2.5 million Pay-per-view DTT cards were active as of the 30th September 2008 compared with 1.6 million in the first nine months of 2007.
Source: Mediaset
Item added: 17th November 2008



ASO completed in Sardinia
On the morning of the 31st October 2008, Sardinia finally completed the process to switch from analogue to digital transmission.
The switch-off affected 1,600,000 residents on the island of which 85% were reliant on terrestrial TV transmissions for their primary TV viewing.
Source: Il Sole 24 Ore
Item added: 3rd November 2008



Europa 7 to get RAI Uno allocation
More than 11 years after it went out of business following a legal dispute with Mediaset’s RETE4, Europa 7 is set to be given a new frequency allocation to begin DTT broadcasting.
The latest ruling is that the frequency allocation to be used by Europa 7 is from RAI Uno and not RETE 4.
Despite the final allocation of a frequency it is unclear whether Europa 7 shareholders will go ahead and resurrect the company.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Item added: 20th October 2008



ASO in Sardinia and Aoste
Now that the approved timetable for Analogue Switch Off (ASO) has been released, Sardinia is expected to complete ASO by the end of November followed by the Aoste Valley, before the end of the year.
In Sardinia, where 90% of homes have digital receivers, all broadcasters are expected to cease analogue transmissions and switch to DTT during the period from the 15th to the 31st of October.
The switch continues next year in the regions of Lazio (Rome), Campania, Trentino Alto Adige and Piedmonte.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 13th October 2008


DTT only households reach 6.3 million
Recent figures released by DGTVi estimate that 6.3 million TV households rely on DTT signals for their television viewing in Italy. This equates to a DTT penetration of 29%.
Source: DGTVi website
Item added: 30th September 2008



DSO plan approved
The Italian Government has approved an analogue switch over plan which will take place on a phased regional basis in 16 regions between 2009 and 2012. Four regions one including Rome will make the change in 2009 and the process will continue until 2012 when the regions of Sicily and Calabria complete the switch over.
By 2010 it is estimated that 70% of the population will have completed the transition to DTT services.
Source: Ministry of Communications
Item added: 30th September 2008




Italian DTT penetration Increases
Recent figures from GfK Marketing Services Italy show that DTT penetration has continued to grow.
During the period from February 2004 and July 2008 a total of 9,231,166 DTT receivers were  sold.
DTT STB’s accounted for 69.3% of the total and TV’s with integrated decoders and other DTT receiving devices made up the remaining 30.7%
Source: GfK Marketing Services Italia
Item added: 17th September 2008




New DTT broadcasters announced
The Communications Authority (AgCom) has published the list of broadcasters expected to receive a licence for DTT services. The regulator received a total of 25 bids for nine DTT licences.
The licence holders are expected to be Jetix with a kid’s service, NBC Universal with a documentary channel, Alphabet consortium with an educational channel, Rete Blu with a social service, Class Editori with a news service, Cartoon Network and Turner Entertainment with Boomerang. Further licences will be allocated to either the Disney Company or AirPlus TV for a pay-DTT service.
Capacity for these services will be provided from 5 of the 6 existing DTT multiplexes. Each multiplex will make approximately 9.5 Mbits/s of capacity available.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 11th August 2008



More than half of Italians to be digital in two years
Presenting the yearly report of the Italian Communication Authority Agcom, the authorities President, Corrado Calabro said that half the Italian population could be ‘digital only’ in two years. He went on to say that the winners of the tender for the 40% of the countries DTT multiplex capacity, released by RAI, Mediaset and Telecom Italia Media would soon be made public. In all there had been 25 bids presented by 18 companies many of them foreign.
Figures in the Agcom report show that more than half the Italian population (54.3%) are already equipped to receive digital programmes either from satellite or terrestrial transmitters.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 21st July 2008



DTT receiver sales reach 8.6 million
In May 310,000 DTT decoders were sold bring the total installed base to 8.6 million according to market researchers GfK.
Another survey from Makno’s “Monitor TV Digitale” gives slightly different figures estimating that there were 5,912,000 Italian DTT households at the end of May. The survey defines a DTT household as ‘those having at least one digital terrestrial receiver in the principal home’. The figure is an increase of 130,000 units since the April figures.
Italy’s DTT offer is currently made up of 28 national free-to-air channels as well as movies, series, sports and kids programs available on PPV
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 21st July 2008



Italian DTT tender gets 25 bids
A total of 25 bids, by 17 companies, have been made for the 12 channels offered by the Italian telecommunications regulator (AgCom), following the release of 40% of  DTT capacity on the country’s 5 multiplexes, to external tender.
The new channels will operate on one multiplex belonging to state broadcaster RAI and on two others operated by commercial broadcasters Mediaset and Telecom Italia Broadcasting. The bids are now being evaluated and the winners will be announced on the 23rd August.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 1st July 2008



September release for ASO timetable
Italy’s Ministry for Economic Development, will present the timetable for the definite switchover to digital terrestrial by 9th September 2008, reports advanced-television.com.
As well as detailing the switch over in 15-20 areas the ministry will also announce the bodies that will be responsible for the managing the transition.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 26th June 2008




Free DVB-H services available from 3 Italia
Service provider 3-Italia is offering six television services free of charge to customers already using the DVB-H platform. The services include RA1, RAI 2, Mediaset, Sky Meteo-24, Current TV and La3. Pay-TV services including a Sky package are also available. 3-Italia has 850,000 customers with DVB-H receivers.
Source: advanced-television.com 
Item added: 10th June 2008




Italian parliament votes against preserving analogue frequency
The new Italian government has had its decree to allow TV channel Rete 4 to keep its analogue TV channel blocked. This means that Rete 4 will have to distribute its channel via satellite releasing its current terrestrial frequency to Centro Europa 7.
The unsuccessful decree was seen by some observers as an attempt to bypass a European Court of Justice sentence that recognised the right of Italian broadcaster Centro Europa 7 to the frequency.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 2nd June 2008


8 million DTT receivers sold
Latest figures from GfK show that 8,069,889 DTT receivers were sold in Italy by the end of March 2008, reports advanced-television.com. Set Top Boxes made up 76% of the total and 24% were iDTV’s.
Broadcasters are also said to be looking in to the possibility of launching a free-to-air satellite service which would offer viewer’s access to all the same services currently available on the DTT platform.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 27th May 2008


Government stalls partial ASO in 2009
The new Italian government has put forward a proposal to allow the commercial broadcaster Mediaset to keep its analogue frequencies until analogue switch-off is completed in 2012.
Plans by the former Communications Minister, Paolo Gentiloni required broadcasters to hand back one of their analogue frequencies in 2009.
For Mediaset, this would have meant stopping broadcasting Rete 4 in analogue on the terrestrial platform.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 27th May 2008
 

Pay-DTT service doubles revenue
The pay-DTT service, Mediaset Premium, doubled its revenue from €45.3 million in Q1 2007 to €108.8 million in Q1 2008 according to Mediaset's recent early 2008 earnings announcement.
Mediaset Premium offers pay-per-view services as well as a bouquet of three pay services.
By the end of April 2008, the number of active Mediaset Premium cards reached 2.5 million.
Source: Mediaset press release
Item added: 20th May 2008
 

Tiscali Digital TV expands coverage
Italian IPTV provider Tiscali Digital TV says that it will expand its service to six more cities according to Broadband TV News.
Bologna, Florence, Genoa, Naples, Palermo and Turin are the new cities and they are to be served with a hybrid DTT and IPTV offer, adding a potential four million homes.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 20th May 2008




Italy launches DTT tender
Italy’s Communications Authority, AgCom, has given the go-ahead for the launch of a tender to award additional capacity on the country’s existing DTT multiplexes.
The tender was officially launched following the approval of the financial conditions for 40 per cent of the transmission capacity of the digital multiplexes owned by national broadcasters RAI, RTI (Mediaset) and Telecom Italia Media to be released. Interested companies will have 60 days, from the date of the publication of the tender rules on the AgCom site and in the Official Gazette, to present their bids. The tender process should be concluded during this summer.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 28th April 2008

 

Euro 2008 to be broadcast in HD on the DTT platform
Public broadcaster RAI plans to transmit the Euro 2008 Football Championships on the DTT platform in HDTV making it available in the regions of Valle d’ Aosta, Sardinia and the cities of  Milan, Rome and Turin.
The Championships take place from the 7th to 29th June in both Switzerland and Austria.
After Euro 2008, RAI plans to continue HD transmissions of other sports events followed by the start of regular HD broadcasts during 2009 in all digital areas.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 8th April 2008


 

Sardinia to complete Analogue Switch Off in Sept/Oct
Following the issue of a new frequency plan for Italy the complete switch off of the analogue transmission network in Sardinia and the complete change to DTT has been delayed until the months of September and October 2008.
The three national broadcasters RAI, Mediaset and La7 have already switched off one of their two analogue channels in Sardinia.
The government has allocated €54.8 million to support digital switchover.
Piedmont will become the next region to undertake analogue switch-off.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 10th March 2008
 

Commission set up to re-allocate DTT frequencies
Italy’s Communication Authority (AgCom) has set up a commission with the task of selecting independent content suppliers and the national broadcasters that will get access to 40% of the transmission capacity of the multiplexes managed by RAI, Electtronica Industriale and Telecom Media Broadcasting reports advanced-television.com.
The allocation of the frequencies will be based on criteria decided by AgCom and the Communications Ministry.
Broadcasters allowed to bid for these frequencies include:
- consortiums that are authorised suppliers of national content;
- national analogue broadcasters that have not achieved 80% territorial coverage;
- local analogue broadcasters without a DTT coverage of at least 80% of their viewer base; and,
- content suppliers on the cable or satellite platforms.
Source: advanced-television.com  and Digitag
Item added: 11th February 2008


 

Frequency allocations breach EU law
The European Court of Justice has ruled that the Italian way of assigning broadcasting frequencies is against the law because it has favoured some broadcasters more than others.
Viviane Reding, the EU’s telecommunications commissioner urged the Italian authorities to implement the judgement “swiftly, and to bring flexibility and fair competition to the Italian system of frequency allocation” The decision shows that EU nations “ must not use the allocation of radio frequencies to freeze the structures on the national market to protect the position of the operators already active on the market”, Reding said in an e-mailed statement reported by Bloomberg.com
Source: Bloomberg.com
Item added: 5th February 2008

 

DTT receiver sales near 6.7 million
The number of DTT receivers sold between February 2004 and November 2007 reached 6,697,516 according to research from GfK Marketing Services commissioned by DGTVi, reports advanced-television.com.
Decoders made up 82.3% (5,510,580) of the total with TV’s with integrated tuners making up the remaining 17.7% (1,186,936).
Decoders with no interactive capability amounted to 4.8% (265,433). Decoders acquired without government subsidy accounted for 57.8% (3,184,370) of the total.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 5th February 2008
 

Analogue switch-off in Sardinia agreed
Italy’s communications authority has announced that broadcasters in Sardinia have reached an agreement on how to switch over to DTT.
Three analogue channels have already been switched of and with the implementation of the agreement Sardinia will be the first region in Italy to switchover completely to DTT.
Complete analogue switch off in Italy is expected by 2012.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 22nd January 2008




DVB-SH trial in Italy
Italian public broadcaster RAI, in conjunction with Alcatel-Lucent and mobile operator 3 Italia are starting the first trial of mobile TV based on the DVB-SH standard in Italy.
The trial will take place in Turin and will be supervised by RAI Technological Strategies Dept. and the RAI Research and Technology Innovation Centre.
Cellular sites will provide indoor coverage of Turin's centre, while broadcast towers provided by RAI will provide outdoor and vehicular coverage of the entire city. Alcatel-Lucent's DVB-SH low-power repeaters will be co-localised with live UMTS sites of 3 Italia and connected to the live UMTS antennas.
The first phase of the trial is planned to take place between December 2007 and March 2008 and will validate the capability of DVB-SH to make available a large number of mobile TV channels, in various usage environments and conditions. The second phase will evaluate the potential broadcast signals from a satellite, which will be emulated by a transmitter in a high-altitude helicopter. The trial is expected to prove the improved reception quality made possible by the DVB-SH standard, which combines both satellite, and ground based repeaters to provide a seamless service.
Source: Telecompaper
Item added: 17th December 2007



Universal Conditional Access Module for DTT, Pay-TV
Hardware manufacturers and Italian broadcasters have reached agreement on a Conditional Access Module (CAM), which provides support for multiple suppliers.
The card called SmarCAM Italia is plugged directly into the digital TV using the industry standard DVB-CI interface. The card can support up to two smart cards simultaneous and makes it no longer necessary for cards to be exchanged to watch content from different Pay-TV providers on the DTT platform.
The card is the result of two years work between SmarDTV, part of the Kudelski group, TV manufacturers and Italian broadcasters Mediaset, Telecom Italia Media, Pangea and the DGTVi committee, which represents all TV broadcasters in Italy.
As well as hardware, implementation guidelines, an interoperability partner programme and a broadcaster certification process have been agreed.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 11th December 2007



DTT usage predicted to be 50% by 2010
Web news site advanced-television.com reports that figures from Italian consultancy e-Media Institute for the end of September indicate that 17% of Italian TV households receive DTT.
The figures are slightly smaller than expected, however it is still predicted that DTT penetration will reach 50% by 2010.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 11th December 2007



Mediaset to launch two new free-to-air DTT channels
Mediaset has announced the launch of two new free-to-air digital terrestrial channels on its DTT platform.
The first new channel, IRIS, will begin broadcasting on Friday the 30th November mainly focusing on cinema but also providing sit-coms, TV dramas, documentaries concerts of classical music and opera as well as theatre.
The second, BIS, launching in the first half of 2008, will focus on the history of commercial TV, providing the chance to watch many of the hit entertainment shows previously featured on Mediaset over its past twenty-five years of operation.
Source: Mediaset press release
Item added: 27th November 2007

Bidding opens for 108 DTT frequencies
The Ministry of Communications has opened a public bidding procedure for 108 terrestrial television frequencies out of the 24,680 total available in the country.
This is the first time in Italy that television frequencies have been offered to broadcasters in an open and public competitive bidding process.
The bidding process by tender will take place in the next few weeks with the target of allotting all the frequencies by March 2008. Only national broadcasters having less than 80% DTT coverage will be allowed to bid.
Source: Rapid TV News
Item added: 20th November 2007

RAI adds two new DTT services
Public service broadcaster RAI has announced plans to launch two new television program services on its DTT platform.
Rai already offers 6 television programs on two multiplexes. One multiplex contains Rai Uno, Rai Due and Rai Tre, and the regional information channel Rai Utile as well as two test channels. The second multiplex provides a home for Rai Sport Sat, RaiNews 24, Rai Edu 1 and Rai Gulp, as well as radio services.
The two new services will be targeted at younger viewers and at general audiences respectively. Services will start sometime in 2008.
Main source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 7th November 2007

 

AGCOM recommends frequencies for small broadcasters
Communications regulator AGCOM has recommended that broadcasters RAI and Mediaset be required to release their unused frequencies to make them available for small broadcasters.
The regulator claims that RAI and Mediaset control 40% of the existing analogue TV frequencies between them, making it difficult for new companies to enter the market.
While the recommendation is non-binding, the government could force some action if the companies do not comply with the request.
Main source: advanced television.com
Item added: 7th November 2007

DVB-T as well as DVB-H from 3 Italia
Telecom operator 3 Italia, which already operates a DVB-H network in Italy, now plans to offer DVB-T services on the same multiplex.
Rapid TV reports that 3 Italia CEO, Vincenzo Novari, recently announced that 3 Italia plan to broadcast four television programme services, two of which will be in High Definition.
3 Italia currently has a total of 770,000 DVB-H customers of which 40% access services at least once a week.
Source: Rapid TV News
Item added: 30th October 2007

Analogue switch off in Sardinia continues
From the 10th November channel RAI Due, from National broadcaster RAI, Rete 4, from Mediaset and Qoob, from Italia Media, will only be available in Sardinia on the digital platform.
This latest switch-off extends digital coverage to the whole of Sardinia.Plans are also in place to gradually extend the analogue switch-off to the northern regions of Trentino Alto Adige and Piedmont.
Analogue switch-off is expected to be completed by 2012.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 9th October 2007



Italy delays switch-off to 2012
Paolo Gentiloni, Italy’s Minister of Telecommunications has confirmed that the country’s analogue switch-off date will be put back four years from December 2008 to 2012.
He said that the original date was un-realistic. At the same time he also announced the introduction of a new rule that will force distributors to sell, only DTT ready TV sets, from next year.
GfK Eurisko released figures in July estimating the total number of Italian households with DTT decoders at 4.9 million and the total number of TV households in Italy at 21 million.
Source: Rapid TV
Item added: 2nd October 2007

Sardinia to complete digital switchover in March 2008
The complete switchover from analogue to digital TV is set to take place in March 2008 according to Broadband TV News.
Italy’s communication minister Paulo Gentiloni is reported to have made the announcement recently and went on to say that the Government had three priorities, the opening of frequencies, the production of new programmes and giving preference to local TV channels.
Gentiloni said that DTT was being watched by 2-3% of the Italian population and by 45% of the population in the Cagliari area of Sardinia.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 14th August 2007

Digital TV spectrum divided
Italy’s digital television legislation moved further forward recently after two parliamentary committees approved proposals on how the country’s digital spectrum should be allocated, according to Broadband TV News.
Article 3 of the legislation covers what should happen to spectrum currently occupied by RAI Due and Mediaset’s Rete 4. Both broadcasters had been attempting to retain the capacity after the analogue switch off, but it now seems likely that part of the spectrum will go to the lesser-known Europa & channel.
RAI and Mediaset also have to face a reduction in the time needed to establish the nationwide digital network from 15 to 9 months. It will also become compulsory that all TV’s sold in Italy must be equipped with a digital tuner.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 8th August 2007


DTT penetration reaches 19%
According to data collected by Makno & Consulting, Digital Terrestrial Television is now received by 4.5 million Italian families, 19.5% of total TV households.
These figures which were made up to June also estimate the number of Sky Italia satellite TV households at 4.5 million and IPTV households at 400,000.
Further analysis indicates that 3.9 million households with DTT receivers use them occasionally, 1.1 million nearly all the time, 850,000 leave them switched on continuously and 400,000 of them are connected to a telephone line.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 30th July 2007

RAI gets €33m to expand DTT
Italian Communications Minister, Paola Gentiloni has issued a ministerial decree assigning €33m to RAI for the expansion of DTT coverage throughout Italy during 2007. The money will also be used for the creation of new TV content to stimulate the take up of DTT.
In total RAI expect to spend €145m to extend digital coverage to 85% of the population.
Total resources budgeted for DTT by the Government for 2007-2009 are €300m.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 24th July 2007

Italian digital TV subsidy
The Italian government has announced plans to provide subsidies of up to €200 on the purchase of new television sets that feature a digital tuner.
Legislation is required before the subsidies can be put in place and some opposition still has to be overcome before it can be implemented, but it is hoped that the law will be passed ahead of the start of the football season in September when sales of new TV traditionally rise.
Some five million Italians change their TV sets each year.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 16th July 2007



3 Italia DVB-H service reaches 600,000 subscribers
Italian mobile telephony operator 3 Italia has reached 600,000 subscribers for its mobile TV DVB-H service, which was launched in July 2006 during the soccer World Cup in Germany.
3 TV currently offers 12 mobile digital channels, including Sky Sport, Sky TG24, Sky Cinema, Sky Vivo, Rai Uno, Rai Due, Mediaset, Boing, La 3 Live, La 3 Sport, as well as six digital channels dedicated to soccer. The service content is protected by Nagravision’s  Nagra Mobile TV content protection solution.
Source: Telecompaper
Item added: 16th July 2007


EU approves Italian digital TV subsidies
The European Commission has decided that subsidies for equipment for the reception of digital television granted by Italy in 2007 are in compliance with EC Treaty state aid rules.
The investigation concluded that tax deductions worth up to €40 million are technology neutral and proportional to promoting the transition to digital TV.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 3rd July 2007

Italy to tender 40% of DTT capacity in July 2007
A tender to assign 40% of Italy’s existing DVB-T multiplex capacity should be ready by the end of July.
The tender concerns the capacity established in the previous Broadcasting Bill and covers the multiplexes already used by national broadcasters, RAI, Mediaset and Telecom Italia Media. The announcement was made during a presentation of a unique database of TV frequencies in Italy.
According to the database there are 629 TV channels in Italy, 10 DTT multiplexes and 24,680 transmitters from high power main stations to low power repeaters.
The database is designed to allow Italy to align itself with international decisions regarding spectrum usage and manage frequencies during the transition from analogue to an all-digital terrestrial TV service.
Main source: advanced-television.com
Item added: June 12th 2007


 

Telecom Italia revenues boosted by DTT
Telecom Italia has posted revenues of €57.6 million for Q1 up 35% on the same period last year. Growth was said to be particularly noticeable in the DTT sector with revenues of €12.3 million, up 132.1%.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 15th May 2007


Analogue switch of continues
Following the switch-off of analogue services in Sardinia on the 1st March the Valle d’Aosta became the next region to follow when it completed the change over on the 16th April.
Over 600,000 people were affected in the city of Aosta and its 16 neighbouring municipalities.
The next regions to switch off analogue services will be the provinces of Trento and Bolzano, followed by Veneto, Tuscany and Sicily.
Figures attributed to Gfk set the number of Italian homes with DTT decoders at 5,006,867.
The goal of the Ministry of Communication is to equip 21 million Italian homes with digital boxes before complete analogue switch off in 2012.
Source: advanced television.com
Item added: 19th April 2007


Pay to view DTT raises broadcaster revenues
Both Mediaset and Telecom Italia Media have reported increases in the revenue from their Pay to view DTT services.
Mediaset sold 1.1 million rechargeable pre-paid cards in 2006 and a further 4.1 million re-charges. This generated €108 million compared to €44 million in 2005.
Rival Telecom Italia Media reported that its Pay to view DTT revenues reached €31.5 million in 2006 more than three times its €10.4 million revenue in 2005.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 2nd April 2007


RAI to test IPTV/DTT hybrid STB’s
RAI Nuovi Media and RaiNet have launched an IPTV/DTT trial using a hybrid Set Top Box (STB).
Viewers participating in the trial will be able to access content from both the DTT and IPTV platforms allowing them to use video on demand services as well as view new forms of advertising. The viewers will also be able to use time shifting when viewing content.
Interoperability and the use of services regardless of the users broadband connectivity are key-features of the trial service.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 27th March 2007


Gentiloni warns against unauthorised use of released analogue spectrum
Italy’s minister Paolo Gentiloni has warned broadcasters that spectrum released when analogue transmissions are switched off will be advertised to new operators.
The minister was commenting in response to a written question from Mediaset, which plans to test the transmission of terrestrial HD on frequencies in the Cagliari region soon to be released when Raidue and Rete4 move to the digital platform. He is reported to have said that judicial measures will be used if necessary to stop un-authorised broadcasters using the released spectrum. He also called for co-operation among broadcasters saying that the number of available frequencies may be less than some parties are expecting.
Source: Ministry of Communications
Item added: 27th March 2007


DVB-T Hierarchical modulation trialed by 3 Italia and RRD
Mobile operator 3 Italia and network operator Reti Radiotelevisive Digitali (RRD) have successfully completed hierarchical modulation trials on 3-Italia’s DVB-H network, according to Broadband TV news. The aim of the trial was to test the possibility of transmitting several standard and high definition TV channels alongside the existing TV channels on the DVB-H mobile TV service.
The tests showed that an additional 4 SDTV channels could be transmitted alongside the existing mobile service. Using Hierarchical modulation in future will enable 3 Italia to transmit two separate data streams, one for the existing DVB-H service and the other for terrestrial DVB-T channels.
Source: advanced television
Item added: 21st March 2007


DVB-H commercial services with 3 Italia
Alessandro Floris, 3 Italia’s Mobile TV director, speaking at the recent DVB World conference in Dublin, said that in October 2006 there were 250,000 subscribers to its DVB-H service. The service, which started in June, has more than 90% outdoor usage with peaks before dinner and during the lunch break. Watching sport is the most popular activity both in terms of penetration and viewing times. The service provides 9 television services in its basic €29/month package. Three premium services are also available, one being dedicated to “Grande Fratello” (Big Brother) and the remaining two to adult services.
Source: DVB
Item added: 13th March 2007

Analogue switch-off begins in Sardinia
The analogue channels of public service broadcaster Rai Due and Mediaset's Retequattro will be shut off in the Cagliari area (Sardinia) on 1 March 2007.
After this, these channels will only be available on the Digital Terrestrial and Satellite platforms.
To ease the transition the Italian Government is providing subsidies for the acquisition of digital decoders and it estimated that 560,000 Sardinians who are regularly paying the TV license fee would qualify for a E70 discount on the purchase of a DTT box. While announcing these subsidies, the president of the DGTVi consortium, Andrea Ambrogetti, also revealed that Retequattro is to launch HD (High Definition) trials.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 26th February 2007
 

Switchover planned for Cagliari in March 2007  
Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia, will switch-off its national analogue transmissions in March 2007 and become the first "all-digital" region in Italy.
At this time national broadcasts provided by RAI, Mediaset and Telecom Italia Media will only be available on the DTT platform.
DTT viewers will also be able to access new services for children from RAI, a continuous news service from Mediaset and an interactive service, call Qoob, from Telecom Italia Media.
Source: Yahoo Italia
Item added: 16^th January 2007

Sky Italia and Vodafone unveil mobile TV offering
Sky Italia, the Italian arm of pay-television broadcaster BSkyB, has linked up with its local division of Vodafone to deliver programmes to mobile owners via a new digital TV service based on the DVB-H standard.
Vodafone Italia said its customers will be able to access "the very best from Sky's channels", which include news and entertainment, as well as exclusive sports content that previously was only available to Sky satellite subscribers.
The new service will make use of Vodafone Italia's transmission network in conjunction with Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H) technology and capacity provided by leading Italian broadcaster Mediaset SpA.
It will compete against 3 Italia's WalkTV, Europe's first commercially available DVB-H mobile television service, which launched earlier this year.
Source: DTG website
Item added: 19th December 2006

DTT Multiplex capacity to be auctioned
Italy’s Communications watchdog (AGCOM), has given the go ahead for new regulations that will allow 40% of the digital multiplex capacity of national broadcasters RAI, Mediaset and Telecom Italia Media, to be put up for auction.
The move is intended to speed up the transition to DTT starting in the “digital regions” of Valle d’Aosta and Sardinia.
A commission of Experts will be set up to action the plan. The regulations are a result of requests made by Italia Digitale Committee chaired by Minister Paolo Gentiloni according to the advanced-television.com website.
Implementation of the new procedure is expected to take several months.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 28th November 2006

Government allocates €120 million for digital switchover
The Italian Government has agreed to set aside €120 million over the next three years to help with the transition from analogue to digital television.
Minister of Communications, Paolo Gentiloni, believes that the €120 million allocated in the Budget represents "a reasonable figure," however he went on to say that "further resources will be needed".
Gentiloni also remarked that the 2012 analogue switch-off deadline set by the EU is "too close". He noted that for analogue switch-off to take place, DTT coverage would need to increase to the full population. Currently, DTT services are available to 70% of the population.
Main source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 8th November 2006

New Communications Bill approved by Cabinet
The Italian Cabinet has approved the reforms to the television market proposed by the Minister for Communications Paolo Gentiloni. The bill introduces new regulations during the switchover phase from analogue to digital terrestrial.
According to the proposal, new measures will be introduced such as a limitation to 45% on the amount of advertising market share that a given broadcaster can hold. Currently, Mediaset has a 66% advertising market share.
The bill also calls for the removal of legal and regulatory barriers that prevent new broadcasters from entering the DTT market.
To help with switch-over, the bill proposes that broadcasters with more that 3 channels on the analogue platform make one of channels exclusively available on the DTT platform and thus switch-off of the analogue service. This would affect both RAI and Mediaset.
The bill still has to have the approval of parliament before it becomes law.
It aims to reform the existing legislation as per the Gaspari law of 2004 (law 112/2004).
Source: Digitag and   Ministry of Communications  
Item added: 17th October 2006

Italys second commercial DVB-H service launched
Less than two years since  the publication of the DVB-H standard by ETSI, mobile TV based on DVB-H is now a commercial reality with over 140,000 subscribers signed up in Italy since June.
Now a second commercial DVB-H service has been officially launched in Italy by TIM and Mediaset. This began service on the 9th September 2006.
Source: Various
Item added: 16th September 2006

Gentiloni calls for an open TV platform similar to Freeview in the UK
At the recent conference organised by the DGTVi, Communications Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, called for the creation of an open DTT platform similar to Freeview in the United Kingdom.
The new platform would be called ‘Tivu’ and Gentiloni hoped that new broadcasters would be able to provide services on the DTT platform.
In response to this a Mediaset representative announced that it was already developing two new channels for its existing DTT platforms, one devoted to TV serials and the other to news.
The Minister also announced that the analogue switch off date, 2012, could be achieved and went on to say that a frequency plan would be put together in early 2007.
Source: Ministry of Communications website
Item added: 29th August 2006

Communications Minister Paolo Gentiloni Constitutes “Digital Italy”
Italy’s Communications Minister Paolo Gentiloni has announced the formation of “Italia Digitale” a committee of organisations which will define and co-ordinate the necessary activities for the transition to digital television and the subsequent switch of existing analogue services.
The committee is made up of representatives from various organisations with an interest in the change these include: 3 Electronica, AGCOM, Ministry of Communications, Alps Association, Coord. to Aeranti Corallo, Fastweb, Foundation UGO Bordoni, FRT, Gruppo Editoriale L’Espresso, Prima TV, RAI, Independent region of Sardinia, Independent region of Aosta, Rete Capri, RTI-Reti Televisive, SKY, Telecom Italia Media.
A committee chaired by Minister Gentiloni, has also been set up to co-ordinate the whole activity and consisting of representatives from AGCOM, DGTVi, Ministry of Communications, RAI and RTI.
Source: Il Ministero Delle Comunicazioni
Item added: 22^nd August 2006

Mediaset in talks for an all-news channel on the DVB-H network
Italian broadcaster Mediaset is reported by advanced-television.com to be planning an all –news channel for its DVB-H network. Negotiations with several possible partners are said to be underway including CNN.
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 7th August 2006

Mobile TV growing quickly in Italy
The world's first commercial mobile TV service using DVB-H technology was launched in Italy on June 5th.
3 Italia, the mobile network operator that launched the service, said last week that it has signed up 111,000 in the first six weeks of operation.
The chief executive of 3 Italia was reported in the International Herald Tribune as having said "We didn't expect the numbers to be this high, and we also didn't expect the strong growth trend to continue even after the conclusion of the World Cup.
Everybody has been saying that mobile television has been overhyped, but so far the vast majority of users have been satisfied with the service, and this bodes well for the future of mobile television.
" The operator is aiming to have 500,000 mobile television clients by the end of 2006. The service is currently available in about 2000 Italian towns and cities with 40 being added each day.
For more information about the service, visit www.dvb-h.org.
Item added:25th July 2006

Four million DTT receivers sold in Italy
Research published by GFK Eurisko estimates that 4 million DTT receivers have been sold in Italy during the last two years. More than half of these were purchased with a government subsidy. In the period between January and November 2005 2.6 million DTT receivers were sold most of which were MHP-enabled.
A pre-payment DTT service offered by Mediaset and LA7 also proved popular further boosting sales for boxes with MHP capability.
Source: Pc world.it
Item added: 11th July 2006

Switch off in Sardinia and Val D’Aosta set for 2008
The Minister for Communication, Paolo Gentiloni, has announced the postponement of analogue switch off   from 31 July to 1st March 2008 in Sardinia and to the 1st October 2008 in theValle d’Aosta. The decision was made because large sectors of the population have not yet obtained decoders for DTT.
Gentiloni went on to say that “the switchover phase from anaologue to digital terrestrial will be longer than planned and that the government will work together with broadcasting companies in each region to achieve the new dates. Firm commitment is also needed to expand the range of digital TV products currently on offer”
In order to keep to the new “switch-off” deadline, the Ministry of Communications, the Sardinia Region, the Valle d’Aosta Region and the DGTV have signed two new protocols of understanding which redefine reciprocal commitments to implement all that is required for the switchover from analogue to digital terrestrial TV broadcasting.
Source: Communicazioni.it
Item added: 4th July 2006

Firm DTT action called for !
The Communication Minister, Paulo Gentiloni, has called for government action on DTT policy in the next few weeks. He went on to say "Italy needs to adopt a serious switchover strategy with regard to digital terrestrial, which means more than a never-ending series of deadlines which are continually put off "
Following the formal review of the results from the pilots in Sardinia and Val D’Aosta, the government may issue a ministerial decree on analogue switch-off. Both pilots are expected to be completed by 31st July 2006.
Main source: advanced–television.com
Item added: 26th June 2006

 

3 Italia launches commercial DVB-H services
"Walk TV" services were planned for launch today the 1st June. Walk TV is the first commercial DVB-H service launched in Europe and viewers can access services from RAI, Mediaset, SKY, and LA3. Viewers will also be able to watch coverage of the FIFA World Cup.
Source: 3 Italia press release in English
Item added: 1st June 2006

Telecom Italia to launch DVB-H services in June
Telecom Italia announced recently that it will start selling mobile broadcast services using DVB-H in June. The handsets will be supplied by South Korean company Samsung.
TV programmes from Canale 5, Retequattro, Italia Uno, LA7 and MTV Italia, plus Serie A TIM and Champions League fotball matches will be available live to subscribers using the Samsung SGH-P290 handset.
The units will also allow access to UMTS services as well as make calls and access content using 3G.
The company expects to achieve a service coverage of 75% of the population by the end of the year and predicts 1 million subscribers by the end of 2008.
Source: TotalTelecom
Item added: 1st May 2006

Mediaset and Vodafone Italia join for mobile TV
Media company Mediaset and mobile operator Vodafone Italia have signed a DVB-H agreement to accelerate and boost the commercial rollout of mobile terrestrial digital TV using DVB-H in Italy.
Vodafone Italia has agreed to use Mediaset's multiplex DVB-H capacity for a period of five years with an option for a further five years. Vodafone Italia will make its technology and broadcast infrastructure available to help complete the network rollout during 2006.
Source: DMeurope.com
Item added: 25th April 2006

Broadcast regulator AGCOM announces plans for an all-digital broadcast environment
The Italian Communications Authority, AGCOM, has issued a declaration regarding its objectives for planning an all-digital broadcast environment. AGCOM will compile a national register of terrestrial broadcast frequencies. The national registry will allow a review of the initial frequency allocation plan established in 2002 and will be used in to help plan analogue switch-off.
The national register will also be used to plan for the allocation of additional multiplexes that could become available following analogue switch-off. AGCOM hopes that a total of 12 multiplexes will be available, dependant on international agreement.

AGCOM has called for increased controls to ensure that multiplex operators provide independent content providers and broadcasters with access to 40% of the multiplex capacity. It is a possiblity that AGCOM  will introduce an auctioning process for the allocation of any  frequencies that become available at switch-off.
AGCOM is also planning to put together regulations for DVB-H use.
Source: AGCOM website
Item added: 6th April 2006

3 Italia announce a June 2006 for its DVB-H service
3 Italia the Telecom operator has been progressing its plan to launch a mobile television service called 'La Tre' in time for the Word Cup. The service which uses the DVB-H standard will initially provide 15 TV 'channels' including services from Mediaset, Sky and of course live World Cup coverage. An increase to 20 channels is planned for the end of the year.  
A subscriber base of 600,000 is expected by the end of the year.
Source: 3 Italia
Item added: 23rd February 2006

Terrestrial HDTV at Turin Olympics
Visitors to Turin for the Winter Olympic Games will be able to view live HDTV pictures transmitted over the RAI DVB-T network at various points around the city. The demonstration will utilise the very latest Advanced Video Coding technology.
Source: DVB
Item added: 13th February 2006

Analogue switch-off postponed until 2008
In a declaration made at the Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels, the Italian Minister of Communications, Mario Landolfi, announced that Italy has postponed its analogue switch-off to 2008.
The government had initially planned to end analogue terrestrial television transmissions on 31 December 2006.
Source: Digitag
Item added: 7th February 2006

Analogue Switch-off in Sardinia and Valle d'Aoste postponed
The switch-off date for analogue TV services in Sardinia and the Valle d'Aoste has changed from the 31st January until the 15th March 2006 during the first phase of the digitisation process.
Source: dgtv
Item added: 7th February 2006

3 Italia acquires channel for nationwide DVB-H service
3 Italia has signed an agreement with the Profit Group to acquire Channel 7 according to Advanced-Television.com.
Channel 7 holds a network licence for national digital TV distribution on terrestrial frequencies. The deal makes 3 Italia the first Italian mobile video company able to offer DVB-H services on its own network.
The company will implement the DVB-H network for its 4.8 million customers starting in the second half of 2006. Both DVB-H combined with UMTS will be used.
Source: Advanced-Television.com
Item added: 29th November 2005

Conference reviews DTT progress
At the Third National Conference on DTT held in Vicenza, Italian leaders discussed the current DTT progress and plans for the future. The conference was organised by the Fondazione Ugo Bordoni.

The first phase of analogue switch-off is ready to begin in Sardinia and Val d'Aosta. On 31 January, analogue terrestrial transmissions will end for 70% of the population. Full analogue switch-off will take place on 21 July.

The deputy minister for communications, Paolo Romani, noted that, as in previous years, €110 million has been included in the 2006 budget in order to help households purchase interactive set-top boxes. It is likey, however, that the amount of the subsidy will decrease from €70 to €50 per household.

In addition, Romani also announced that the next region for analogue switch-off will likely be Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Source; Digitag
Item added: 11th October 2005


2006 Launch For DVB-H Services In Italy Announced
Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) and media group Mediaset announced on Thursday 6th October 2005, an agreement to broadcast live television to mobile phones from 2006 using DVB-H technology. TIM said it would provide broadcasts of Mediaset's three TV channels and football on its top-of-the-range mobile phones for five years from 2006. This follows reports that Verizon will also begin DVB-H services across the USA next year using a network built and operated by Crown Castle.
Source: DVB
Item added: 9th Oct 2005

Previous

Telecom Italia Cartapiu selects Irdeto
Telecom Italia Media is to use Irdeto Access content security for its digital terrestrial pay-TV operation, according to Broadband TV News. A similar scheme run by Mediaset, using a security system from Nagravision, is reported to have  already placed 400,000 cards with distributors.
The Irdeto Access system will be used for pay-per-event viewing of matches from nine series A football clubs. The cards can be "re-charged" over the phone after initial purchase from local retailers.
Main source: Broadband TV News, May 13th 2005
Item added: 17th May 2005

 

Analogue Switch-off in Sardinia and Valle d'Aoste
The local governments of Sardinia and Valle d'Aoste have signed an agreement with the national Ministry of Communications to switch-off their analogue signals by January 2006. As part of the agreement, the local governments will work together with broadcasters to put in place the necessary conditions to allow for analogue switch-off. Source: Digitag
Item added: 26th April 2005
 

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RTD Launch new DTT channels and iTV services underpinned by DigiSoft technology
Milan, Italy, January 27th 2005
Today in Milan, Reti Televisive Digitali (RTD) officially launched two new Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) channels and new MHP interactive TV (iTV) applications and services based on the DigiHost platform from Irish iTV software company DigiSoft.TV. RTD already provides 24-hour coverage to an area of Italy from Lombardy to Milan, Como, Varese and Pavia, with a population in excess of five million people. At the launch ceremony, Raimondo Lagostena, the President of partner companies, Profit Group and Odeon TV, Italy's fourth largest broadcaster, described the rapidly changing environment of Italian TV as analogue TV broadcasting comes to an end and fifty-eight million Italian citizens make the switch to Digital TV.
Source:Digisoft  http://www.digisoft.tv/news/pressreleases/press14.html

Official Launch of DTT
Italy officially launched DVB-T services on the 1st January 2004, initially providing some services to 50% of the population. By the end of 2004, 5 multiplexes should be in operation, 2Mux's from RAI with 9-10 programmes, 1 Mux from Mediaset with 5 programmes, 1 Mux from Telecom/TV International with 2 programmes and 1 Mux operated by "Holland Co-ordinator and Services" on frequencies released by the former Tele+.
The coverage will be extended to 70% of provincial capitals during 2005.

MHP Box subsidy
In another initiative the government is pushing MHP by making a subsidy of 120-150 million Euros available to ensure the supply of 900,000 MHP enabled STBs. For recent STB prices comparisons look at
http://www.trovaprezzi.it/categoria.aspx?id=79&libera=MHP

*Note regarding MFN & SFN in Italy:

In Italy, while the current muxes in non-switched regions are operating as MFN's, regional switch-off is progressively moving the whole of the country toward SFN distribution of 18 MUXes broadcasting national content (no regional differentiation). They are macro-area SFNs, not matched to political Regional borders. Instead, the "public service" MUX (mainly in VHF) and the Regional and Local televisions MUXes will remain in MFN.

The information provided comes from several sources and whilst DVB believe it to be correct we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
If you have more up to date information or corrections please send them to dvb@dvb.org
Last page update: 19th December 2011, Barry Tew.