Advanced Television

Venezuela targets 100 DTT channels

April 18, 2013

By Chris Forrester

Venezuela has just launched a new terrestrial TV channel covering science, technology and innovation (‘ConCiencaa’). There are currently just 10 free-to-air digital channels (DTT) available, but ConCiencia’s president Nicholas Maduro says he expects the sector to expand rapidly to about 100 channels over the next 3 years.

Officially, there is no DTT broadcasting because the system has not properly been approved and not helped by Globovision not being granted a DTT licence.

There is also a dire shortage of set-top boxes. The first batch of some 126,000 were quickly snapped up by dealers and the public, and an order is in place with Argentina to supply a total of 750,000 units.

The target is to cover 70 per cent of the population by 2014 with DTT signals.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, DTT/DSO