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Digital Terrestrial Television
Digital terrestrial television represents
the opportunity for Rai and the Italian
television system to create a farreaching
publishing innovation,
keeping free television in first place in
the offering of information,
entertainment and culture. It is a
unique opportunity to articulate the
free offering on several channels,
enhancing programming,
experimenting and reaching the most
critical public groups for traditional
general-interest television. And
consequently it is an opportunity to
maintain the ratings, resources,
creativity and centrality within the
television system of free television.
Besides a broader choice of channels,
DTT also offers better quality pictures:
viewing in cinema format (16:9) and the
possibility for broadcasting in high
definition.
Upon completion of the digitalisation
process, all the broadcasts will be
digital and it will no longer be possible
to receive the analogue signal. 2012
has been established as the final
deadline for the switchover to digital
television for all the EU member
countries.
The EU directives have been
implemented by the Italian
Government, which adopted a
progressive regional calendar which will
lead to the complete switchover of
Italian television from analogue to
digital within three years.
In November 2008, Sardinia was
Europe's first all-digital region. During
2009, Valle d'Aosta, Lazio, Campania,
Trentino, Alto Adige and Western
Piedmont (Turin and Cuneo) were all
'digitalised', with more than 30% of the
population receiving the digital signal
only.
Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia
Romagna, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia
and Liguria to digital, over 70% of the
Italian population will switch to digital
(about 14 million citizens involved in
2009 and 23 in 2010 for a total of
about 37 million).
Tivù and TivùSat
Tivù Srl was established on 24
September 2008 and became
operational in January 2009, supplying
services for the digital terrestrial
platform. As of 31July 2009, the
company launched the free satellite
platform TivùSat which, at the end of the
year, had reached the target of
100,000 cards activated and 260,000
cards sold to the manufacturers of
decoders and televisions, with 6 TivùSat
certified decoders.
The new satellite platform replicates the
free television offering available in DTT
from Rai, Mediaset, la7 and other
operators, via satellite, and hosts
numerous international channels. With
the digital offering, TivùSat proposes,
free of charge, to reach those areas
where terrestrial broadcasting does not
arrive fully or at all. Rai's participation
in the platform ensures the observance
by the public service of the neutrality
restriction regarding technology.
Throughout the whole of 2009, the
company carried out communication
campaigns, especially during the switchoff,
to promote the terrestrial platform
(Tivù) and the satellite platform (TivùSat).
Rai's new digital terrestrial offering
The current national DTT offering
consists of an increasing number of
channels: 9 free in simulcast from the
analogue terrestrial signal, numerous
other free national channels and a
growing pay TV offering. Mediaset and
Rai are the broadcasters with the
broadest offering and Rai has the
broadest free offering.
Rai's digital terrestrial offering on the
national territory comprises:
- RaiUno, RaiDue, RaiTre, Rai 4, Rai
Gulp, Rai Sport Più and Rai Storia.
In the switch-off areas (and
consequently progressively throughout
the whole country) these are joined by:
- Rai Extra, Rai Premium, Rai Cinema,
Rai YoYo, RaiGulp+1, RaiEdu 1,
RaiUno in High Definition, an HD test
channel used so far for the
broadcasting of sporting events (e.g.:
Champions League matches).