Digita tests VOD on the DTT platform
Digita the operator of the Finnish DTT platform has installed a Vision On
Demand (VOD) test platform for the introduction of push TV services.
The recently installed service
facilitates the introduction of new prime time services which can be downloaded
during the night when fewer DTT broadcasters are using the network.
“Our clients, broadcasters and service
operators, are looking to offer their customers new value-added services like
virtual channels and On Demand Services. We believe that PushTV technology is
important way to produce these kind of new services also via DTT Networks”,
says Timo Kiiskinen.
Source: VODvision press release
Item added: 9th September 2008
Finland explores YLE smart card
Following a fall in revenue since digitisation, YLE is considering the use of a Smart card to access DTV services.
Finland’s ministry of justice is to examine the possibility of encrypting DTT transmissions from the public broadcaster YLE and issuing smart cards only to those that have paid the television licence fee.
This method, which could be introduced as soon as 2010, would help shore up YLE’s reduced finances.
Unfortunately not all the DTT receivers in the Finnish market have a smart card slot which has brought about criticism and the suggestion that homes where this is the case should not be penalised further and that the cost of any equipment upgrades should come out of the licence fee.
A similar scheme is reported to be in place in neighbouring Norway, although in Sweden transmissions from SVT which were initially encrypted were quickly made freely available without encryption.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 17th December 2007
Analogue Switch Off Complete
In the early hours of 1st September 2007, 5 analogue transmission networks were switched off, making the terrestrial platform in Finland completely digital.
Netherlands and Luxembourg were the fist countries to complete ASO.
Seven new television programme services were launched during the switch over.
Source: Digitag from Digita
Item added: 3rd September 2007
Finland nears digital switchover
With only a few weeks to go to analogue switch off the head of Finland's TV 2007 project has warned that between 20,000 and 40,000 households will loose TV reception on September 9th if they don’t soon get a TV decoder or receiver.Estimates at the end of July predicted that 73% of households had upgraded to digital TV. In homes dependant on terrestrial TV reception 85% had already converted and the majority of those who had yet to convert said that they would purchase a receiver or decoder in the next few weeks.
In cable TV households the percentage ready for the switch fell to 61% and recently they were granted a switchover reprieve until February 2008.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 21st August 2007
YLE told to back mobile TV
Broadband TV News reports that Finland’s communications minister, Suvi Lindén, has asked public broadcaster YLE to commence transmissions over mobile TV using DVB-H, as soon as possible.
The minister is reported to have said that the broadcasters should enter the market soon, in order to boost the development of mobile TV in the country.
He also said that the programmes should be made available free of charge.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 14th August 2007
Mobile TV now available to consumers in Finland
(DVB 22nd May 2007)
Earlier this month saw the launch, on Digita'siili-TV platform, of commercial free-to-air services from MTV Media and Nelonen Media, two of Finland's commercial broadcasters.
As a further confirmation that DVB-H mobile TV has become a reality in Finland, Nokia N92 receivers are now available to consumers and the newer N77 model is also set to become available during this quarter.
DVB-H networks are now operating commercially in Italy, Vietnam and Finland.
The DVB-H network in Finland is operated by Digita and has been covering more than 25% of the population since December of last year.
By the end of this year Digita hopes to be able to increase coverage to 40% of Finns.
Some content has been on air since December, including Voice-tv from SBS Finland Oy and some once-off sporting broadcasts from Elisa-tv, however receivers have not been available to consumers until now.
May 10th was the key date for the platform with the addition of MTV3, followed quickly by Nelonen's Channel 4.
It is understood that further services will be added in future, including the channels of public broadcaster YLE. These services have been launched free to air initially, but pay-TV services can be expected as the platform develops.
More information on the service, mostly in Finnish, is available here: www.mobiilitv.fi
Item added: 12th June 2007
YLE mobile TV launch delayed
Finish public service broadcaster YLE has announced that it will delay the launch of its mobile TV service until the end of the year. YLE said that a combination of copyright issues were still to be resolved and this together with a limited number of handsets currently available on the market capable of handling DVB-H had caused it to postpone the launch.
The Digita DVB-H service, which was launched in December, continues to operate in central Helsinki, Turku and Oulu.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 19th April 2007
Plus TV offers free smartcard to subscribers
PlusTV is launching a new twin card package that allows subscribers to their DTT package to extend viewing to any suitable TV they have.
Subscribers will also be able to acquire three twin cards per household, which according to Finnpanel should be usable by the 13% of Finnish households having three television sets and the 32%, which have two.
The twin cards will be available free of charge until August 31, 2007, when Finland’s digital switchover will be completed. Following this the price of each card will be set at 50% of the main subscription cost.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 13th March 2007
Concern that DTT receiver sales need to increase before ASO
Although 70% of terrestrial dependant households have already purchased DTT receivers only half of cable households have done so.
With only seven months until analogue switch-off, some concern has been expressed that the remaining analogue households and especially those who are cable only, will not be ready when the switch over occurs. This is because the copyright law does not allow cable operators to down-convert YLE's digital content to analogue and users will require a DTT receiver to continue to receive YLE’s services.
It is estimated that 1 million households have yet to purchase a DTT receiver and retailers expect a sharp increase in sales just prior to the 1 August deadline. Taking the example of switch-off in Sweden, approximately one-fifth of households wait until the last minute to purchase DTT receivers.
Source: YLE 24
Item added: 6th February 2007
Finnish regulator to issue DVB-H programme licences
The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority is expected issue licenses for the provision of television and radio services soon. These will be used on the newly built DVB-H network managed by Digita.
Programme licenses will not be necessary for broadcasters, such as YLE, providing tht the television content is simultaneously transmitted on both the conventional television networks and the DVB-H network. In addition, interactive services, such as games, do not require a licence.
Source: DM Europe
Item added: 9th January 2007
Eight DTT licenses awarded by the Finish government
Four of these licenses will be used on the DigiTV pay platform and will be part of the new Multiplex E. This will soon be launched in the southern part of the country and then extended to the rest of the country following analogue switch-off.
The new services include:
- Discovery Channel,
- Eurosport
- MTV Oy (a local broadcaster) for its own documentary service, and
- Swelcom Oy for a film and sitcom service.
Four additional DTT licenses have been awarded and will share existing multiplex capacity.
These new services include:
- MTV Networks,
- Nickelodeon,
- A daytime children's service from Disney, and
- An evening sports programme
Source: Digitag
Item added: 27th December 2006
New Pay-TV services to be launched
Digi TV Plus Oy, a new company, launched in July, is to start Pay-TV services on the 1st November 2006, under the name “Plus TV”. The new pay package will provide DTT viewers with two new television programme services from local and commercial broadcaster MTV3. More services will became available after analogue switch off in 2007.
Source: Digi TV Plus and Broadband TV news
Item added: 31st October 2006
Digita granted Finland's fifth digital TV licence
The Finish government announced in a statement on the 15th June that it had awarded the country's fifth digital television licence to Telediffusion de France (TDF) subsidiary Digita.
There are currently three digital TV networks and one mobile digital TV network licenced in Finland and the new fifth network is expected to start in September 2007.
Digita now holds the licence for all five digital TV networks and won this latest bid in competition with 20 other applicants.
Source: News Room Finland
Item added: 20th June 2006
DVB-H launch in Finland comes a step closer
11 May 2006
Earlier this year Finnish company Digita was awarded the operating license for a DVB-H network in Finland. Today Digita has signed a contract with Nokia covering the supply of a DVB-H mobile TV platform. Digita will be responsible for the broadcasting network and administration of channels as the network operator.
The first stage of network rollout in 2006 will cover the area inside the Ring Road III in the Helsinki region and the cities of Turku, Tampere, and Oulu. The network will reach 29 percent of the population in Finland by the end of 2006. Digita has already made plans to extend the network to cover the majority of Finns. Negotiations with the possible service operators have been based on these plans.
More information can be found on the launch of DVB-H in Finland and elsewhere at www.dvb-h.org.
Digital homes steadily increase
Nearly half of all Finnish households have converted to digital television according to a statement from the country's transport and communications minister. The recent Finnpanel survey shows that 975,000 households now have access to digital television. The analogue switch-off process is also underway in the Aland Islands and the whole switch-off process in Finland is expected to be completed in 2007.
Source: Broadband TV news
Item added: 25th April 2006
New candidate for "World's First" with DVB-H?
DVB 28 March 2006
The Finnish Goverment announced late last week that it has awarded a license to build and operate a DVB-H mobile TV network to Digita. Three other companies, Elisa Corporation, TeliaSonera Finland Plc and Telemast Nordic Oy, also applied for the license. The successful applicant says that it will roll out the network this year with the aim of covering 29% of the Finnish population by the end of 2006.
This news comes against the backdrop of recent announcements in Italy from both 3 Italia, who say they will launch a network in time for the World Cup in June, and from Telecom Italia Mobile, who are targetting a September launch date. This year will also see the deployment of a DVB-H network in the USA from Crown Castle International subsidiary Modeo.
Further information on the announcement in Finland and on DVB-H technology, trials and launches can be found on the official DVB-H website.
Item added: 30th March 2006
29 Bid for DTT services licence
Finland's latest round of bidding for capacity on the countrys digital network has resulted in expressions of interest from 29 broadcasters/companies. Capacity will be made available in existing multiplexes as well as on the new 5th multiplex.
Two television service slots will be allocated to the Swedish public broadcaster SVT.
Some of the prospective bidders for other slots are said to be BBC World Distribution Ltd., C More Entertainment, Discovery Communications, MTV Networks, National Geographic Channel, Turner Broadcasting, Viasat and The Walt Disney Company. Full applications have to be submited by May 2nd.
Source: Digitag
Item added: 30th March 2006
Fifth Finish multiplex to be licenced
The Ministry of Transport and Communications in Finland has announced plans to grant a new digital TV licence for a fifth multiplex.
The new licence will focus specifically on the transmission of Swedish television programmes.
A fourth licence round was announced in November with the intention of launching a mobile TV service using DVB-H technology.
Applicants have until mid-February to submit an expression of interest to the ministry. The applications must be in by May 1, 2006.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 7th February 2006
Four applicants for Finnish DVB-H licence
Elisa Corporation, Digita Oy, TeliaSonera Finland Oyj and Telemast Nordic Oy have informed the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications that they are interested in applying for the nationwide DVB-H licence.
Applicants needed to inform the ministry of their interest by the end of November. Final applications must be submitted at the end of January.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 12th December 2005
Finland first to license commercial mobile TV services using DVB-H
The Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communication announced on the 14th November that it would start accepting applications for mobile TV licenses based on the DVB-H transmission technology.
The Minister of Transport and Communications Susanna Huovinen said that her government wants to promote the development of innovations, including mobile TV. The operating licence will be awarded early next year.
Source: The Register
Item added: 15th November 2005
Finnish digital penetration increasing
A total of 785,000 digital television decoders had been acquired by Finnish householders by the end of August according to an article in Helsingin Sanomat. This means that around 33% of Finnish homes are prepared for DTV transmissions. However the article argues that this is not big enough to allow the planed analogue shutoff in 2007 to take place.
Source: Helsinginsanomat
Item added: 18th October 2005
Consumers also want to watch TV programs on their mobile
Espoo, Finland - Results announced today from one of the world's first commercial mobile TV pilots in Helsinki, Finland reveal the popularity and willingness to pay for mobile TV services, underlining the potential of this exciting new mobile application. 41% of pilot participants would be willing to purchase mobile TV services and half thought that a fixed monthly fee of 10 euros was a reasonable price to pay. Over half (58%) said that they believed broadcast mobile TV services would be popular.
Digita, Elisa, MTV, Channel Four Finland (Nelonen), Nokia, TeliaSonera Finland and YLE jointly conducted the pilot in Finland between March and June 2005 with 500 users accessing mobile TV using the Nokia 7710 smartphone and DVB-H technology.
Source: Nokia
Item added: 30th August 2005
Finnish Mobile TV Project at IAAF World championships
The Finnish DVB-H mobile trial which has been running in Helsinki for several months went mainstream during the World Athletic Championships held in August.
Nokia got together with network operator Digita, operators Elisa, Telia Sonora and TV stations YLE, MTV and Channel 4 to enable 300 people, loaned smart phones, to test-real time broadcasts during the athletics competition.
The multi-channel package included domestic broadcasts of the championship, compilation broadcasts for international distribution and five special Championship broadcasts of individual events.
Item added: 15th August 2005
Source: Nokia press release.
Third stage of Digitisation Completed
Finland has just completed the third stage of digitising the Finish TV network. Digita's main TV-stations now cover 99.9% of the population and the network will be extended by a further 51 low power transmitters in 2005/2006. Three multiplexes are available in Finland, consisting of 12 free and four pay-TV channels as well as six radio channels. Nearly 74% of the population can receive all these services with 94% able to receive 10 or more channels. The analogue switch off date for Finland is 31 August 2007.
Source: DIGITA Oy Press release 3rd August 2005
Item added: 8th August 2005
Mobile TV pilot in Finland
Digita, Elisa, MTV, Nelonen, Nokia, Sonera and YLE (The Finnish Broadcasting Company) are starting a unique mobile TVpilot in Finland. The project tests mobile TV services and consumer experiences, as well as the underlying technology, with 500 users in the Helsinki region.
Selected from Sonera and Elisa mobile phone customers, the test users are able to view real-time TV and radio programs on a Nokia 7710 smartphone equipped with a special accessory to receive mobile TV broadcasts. The Nokia smartphone also enables direct links to the Internet for access to background information on TV programs or sports results. Test users have access to MTV, YLE and Nelonen programs as well as international theme channels such as CNN, BBC World, Euronews, Eurosport, ViVa Plus and Fashion TV. The pilot continues until 20 June 2005.
Source: Advanced-Television.com
http://www.advanced-television.com/2005/news_archive_2005/Mar7_March11.htm#wed
