Digital terrestrial television in Portugal

The TDT service started on 29 April, 2009 with 4 free-to-air (FTA) channels, including a High-Definition test channel. In The Azores and Madeira Islands the respective regional channel (RTP Acores and RTP Madeira) is also available^[1].

In June 2010 TDT coverage reached 83% of the population and was expected to reach 100% by the end of 2010. Analog switch off is planned for 26 April, 2012 ^[2].

The four existing analog FTA channels are currently simulcasting in DVB-T MPEG4^[3] (digital) and PAL (analog).

The TDT process was broken in two different licenses: one for the management of the FTA network and frequencies, and one for the management and distribution of pay TV channels and content. Both licenses were won by Portugal Telecom. PT acquired also the transmitter network of Televisão Independente (TVI), thus becoming the sole broadcaster of analog television signals.^[4]

Anacom objective was to have 5 TDT FTA channels (including a new 5th FTA channel) and a paid TV offer of around 40 channels. The plan for a paid TV offer was abandoned when PT announced that they were returning the paid TV license to Anacom. Anacom returned the €2.5M paid by PT for the license.^[5].

The creation of the 5th TV channel has also been criticized by the main private broadcasters - TVI and Sociedade Independente de Comunicação (SIC) argued that the television advertising market is already saturated and a new broadcaster would be detrimental to the existing channels^[6].

There are already specialized pages offering the programming of Portuguese digital TV channels; in particular Programação TDT.

References

1. ^ TDT Portugal, "A TDT, em Portugal, disponibiliza de forma gratuita os canais generalistas nacionais RTP 1, RTP 2, SIC, TVI, RTP Açores e RTP Madeira (nas respectivas Regiões Autónomas). Um dos canais poderá ser emitido simultaneamente em Alta Definição", http://tdt.telecom.pt/o_que_e/Default.aspx?code=XzX622
2. ^ Dinheiro Digital, "A 29 de abril de 2009 começaram as emissões digitais, hoje 83 por cento da população está coberta e, no final do ano, estará a 100 por cento», disse o ministro António Mendonça, adiantando que o projeto está com um ano de avanço [a 26 de abril de 2012 a analógica será desligada", http://tek.sapo.pt/noticias/telecomunicacoes/pt_revoga_licenca_para_tdt_e_recupera_caucao_1044336.html
3. ^ ANACOM, "FAQ: Do I need to change my television set to receive DTT?", [1]
4. ^ Jornal de Notícias, "PT concorre sozinha à TDT e compra rede analógica à dona da TVI" [2] (Portuguese)
5. ^ Tek Sapo, "PT revoga licença para TDT e recupera caução", http://tek.sapo.pt/noticias/telecomunicacoes/pt_revoga_licenca_para_tdt_e_recupera_caucao_1044336.html
6. ^ Económico, "Quem ganha e perde com o novo canal de TV" [3] (Portuguese) Retrieved 2010-07-10.