Advanced Television

Spain heads for pre-paid TV services on DTT

October 16, 2007

From David Del Valle in Madrid

Telco operator Abertis is leading a project to develop a single DTT box and pre-paid cards to allow DTT broadcasters to offer certain pay TV services, such as cinema or football or music events following the Italian example.

The company plans to set up a centre or a factory to provide the (local, Regional or National) TV channels with the pay-TV services through a single DTT set-top-box using pre-paid cards to have access to premium content. To this end, the group is seeking a common agreement with all TV broadcasters, bringing all the main TV players on board in the project. Abertis is also negotiating with electronic manufacturers and CAS companies to build a single DTT box and select the best Conditional Access System to carry out the project.

If implemented, this new pay-TV offer would directly compete with the current satellite, cable and IPTV operators. Recently, the Government announced its willingness to change the legislation to allow the DTT distribution of several pay-TV services. Channels such as La Sexta are very keen on the project. In recent months, a technical test with pay-TV events on DTT has been made in Extremadura, west of Spain, within a plan called TDT 2.0, amongst 1,000 homes.

Currently, more than 6.1 million DTT set-top-boxes have been sold in Spain.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, DTT/DSO, Pay TV